


Edge with Silver TEMPORARY HIATUS

by Aurora_Dawn



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bottom Roronoa Zoro, Caring Luffy, Chopper growing medical plants in the backyard because he can, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Gardens & Gardening, Human Chopper, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Mentions of other ships, Mild Blood, Narcolepsy, Overprotective Brothers, Scarification, Self-conscious Zoro, Shy Zoro, Strangers to Lovers, understanding Luffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26086033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurora_Dawn/pseuds/Aurora_Dawn
Summary: Zoro, who moved into the small neighborhood of Aria for a new life, is precarious of others and very self-conscious of how he looks (due to a recent freak accident) hides most of the time in his new home away from others making art while his friend (and the person who took care of him) aspires to be a doctor. Both rarely leave the house, so Luffy and his friends (the neighbors) take it upon themselves to befriend and help Zoro get over the self-conscious guilt. Luffy was not prepared to fall in love with a man who hated the way he looked.
Relationships: Franky/Nico Robin, Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro, Nami/Nefertari Vivi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 55





	1. Moving in

**Author's Note:**

> So this is one of the substitutes, but this is also me just partially shit posting about Luzo since they're so cute together. Enjoy! Also, do not drink or drive kiddies! (this chapter may be shorter than usual sorry.)

"HEY! You shouldn't be lifting heavy things!" Chopper, a seventeen-year-old boy with short cinnamon brown hair hidden under a blue and pink helmet-like beanie, screeched loudly. Zoro -a man with short green hair hidden underneath a black baseball cap and bandages covering his left side of the face and the rest of his upper and lower body- winced as he pushed past the door into their new home. Chopper came over and pinched the back of his thigh that most certainly could have cut off all the nerves in his thigh. "OW!" He yelps, nearly jumping a foot in the air. Zoro spun around and knocked a fist into the younger boys, "Quit that, would you!" He snaps, stepping further into the house when two of his friends came barreling in with numerous boxes.

Johnny and Yosaku, an interesting pair that helped Chopper tend to Zoro when he got into that horrid accident that left him bandaged up the way he is right now, helped the two of them move into the lovely neighborhood called Aria. The incident that all four of them skirted around was a car accident. Zoro, who was driving back from work (before he got laid off because of his injury), had slammed head-on with a drunken driver. He was ejected through the shattered windshield, a large shard of broken glass splitting his torso open while the shrapnel that had gone flying had gotten him in the eye. If it hadn't been for Johnny who happened to be there at the accident it was definite that he would've died before the ambulance got there. 

Zoro had refused to go to the hospital, saying the bill would be too much and he'd be in debt for the rest of his life if he went, much to the chagrin of everyone around him while he was breathing like it was his last breath. Chopper had heard about the incident hours after it happened and rushed to Zoro's apartment to take care of him, and that's how they ended up here in Aria after Chopper declared he was no longer living the city life once he had grown too self-conscious.

"Aniki!" Johnny cried, dropping a box full of clothes and rushing over to Zoro. He covered his bandaged eye, his face contorted in pain as blood began to leak through. Of course, the wound was fresh as it only happened two days ago (with the mention to a few out of the blue he was leaving), everyone they knew was not very happy with the decision. Chopper squeaked and rushed over, pushing him to sit down on the steps that lead to the upstairs of the house. "This is why I told you not to lift heavy things!" Chopper growled, reaching into the blue backpack he had been wearing to grab a pair of small scissors and snip away at the now bloodied bandages from his face and torso. Johnny had taken the privilege of standing in front of the doorway to make sure anyone nosey enough that was passing by could not see what was going on.

Yosaku fretted, moving boxes to keep himself busy and not worry himself to death as Chopper stitched up the broken sutures that had popped while he had been lifting and wiping away the blood gently. "You need to be more careful! I don't know what you would do if I hadn't come along," Chopper scolds, shaking his head as he placed a thick layer of gauze over the wounds before wrapping the bandages around him tightly. Zoro didn't say anything as Chopper finished patching his injured body up. "You are not allowed to move from this spot until all the boxes are in the house, you hear me?" Chopper growled, shoving his things angrily back into his bag. "I swear, at this rate, you'll die before you're healed." "Don't say that Chopper-bro!" Yosaku wailed, Johnny giving a knee-jerk at the sudden words that dropped from Chopper.

Zoro tried to roll his eye but instead hissed in pain as his temple throbbed with tear-jerking pain. "Just leave it to us, Aniki! We'll have all the boxes in the house before you know it." Yosaku gave a thumbs up before leaving with his counterpart outside to finish bringing in the remaining boxes. Chopper slipped on his backpack and sat down next to him on the staircase, both watching as Johnny and Yosaku came in and out with boxes until the last one was dropped with a grunt in the kitchen. "All done Aniki! We pulled out some cots for you and Chopper-bro so you have something to sleep on before you go and redo some of the house." Johnny explained, motioning to the two cots in the living room filled with boxes and skewed furniture.

"Thanks, guys," Zoro finally said, looking at the wooden panel of the floor. "It was nothing! Now, we're gonna go with Chopper bro to pick out paint for the rooms n' stuff, so we'll be back later with all of that." Yosaku smiled, pulling Chopper off the steps and out the door with the other male before slamming the door shut, leaving Zoro to himself. He gingerly pushed himself from the steps to explore the house, starting with their spacious living room. Who knew this neighborhood would be so cheap? A house this big for the small price of 16,000 berri was most certainly a steal. He wandered past the boxes and looked through the long window that stretched on the wall, shining sunlight into the warm brown-colored room.

He then wandered into the kitchen that also looked like a dining room, lovely deep red stained fine wood grain cabinets that stretched to the ceiling and cupboards that had silvered handles with an intricate design molded to it. The microwave was a decent size, a black-colored model that hung above the electric stove. The refrigerator and freezer were placed right next to each other with two thin cupboards framing them against the two cabinets that stood on either side. The counter was granite grey, smooth with a glossy finish with the walling a homey brick filling. A window above the sink gave way to the equally spacious backyard, a little messy and in need of a cleaning but it wasn't anything Zoro couldn't do.

He wandered from the kitchen to a backroom that was actually a sunroom, an all-glass room with a white marbled wood flooring, and a creme colored sill wide enough for someone to sunbathe on. Zoro soaked in the sun for a moment before retreating back into the kitchen and through the living room, up the stairs. He noticed the size of the room he entered, which was half the size of the living room, and wandered to the first door, pushing open the door to see the master sized bedroom. He stepped in fully while leaving the door open behind him. Thank god for there is no carpeting. He took looked over at the two giant windows which also faced the backyard, the sill thick enough for him to lounge on and take naps before he turned to the bathroom door (or what he thought would be at least).

Zoro was pleasantly surprised at the bathroom, linoleum flooring, and tiled walling that went halfway before turning into regular walling. There was a built-in showerhead with a glass casing around it fit for two people with a porcelain bench to set down soaps and other numerous miscellaneous things you'd use in a shower. Next to the shower was an in-floor tub that looked to fit at least three people and a child-sized person (Chopper). On the wall next to him was a porcelain white counter with steel grey cupboards and drawers with a mirror that took up almost the entire wall. There was a wooden shelf next to the toilet to store other things such as towels and things like that. Walking back into the bedroom, he took a peek into the closet to see it was spacious enough to store extra boxes if needed.

Zoro left the room and wandered into the next one, which happened to be an indoor porch that had a screen door leading to a deck outside. It was decently sized and would most certainly be a room Chopper would use, Zoro nods to himself and left the room. He walked into the next one across from the porch which was also a master bedroom, nearly identical to the one Zoro had entered earlier but the bathroom is a bit smaller and without the bath. Zoro looked into the next two rooms to see they're spare rooms. After assessing himself of each room he made his way back downstairs and sat down on one of the loveseats, his taut wounds screaming with pain as he slowly sat down. He lounged around as he waited for the trio to come back, watching through the window to see passerby's look with mild confusion of the Uhaul truck parked outside the house. 

Zoro must've dozed off in the seat, Chopper gently shaking him awake while Johnny and Yosaku handled the number of paint cans they brought in. "We got some basic paint colors since we didn't know what colors you would want," Yosaku states as he gave Zoro the swatches they stole (not really) from the local hardware store. "Hnn..." Zoro acknowledged, taking the swatches and fliting through them. Winter white, Old Amethyst, Sunrise peach, Pale ruby, Fuzzy coral, Modern sapphire, Precarious blonde, Antique lilac, Airy teal, Delicate cream, Magic emerald, Delicate malachite. Creative names... sorta. Zoro raised his visible eyebrow at the name before picking out the colors he'd paint his room.

Delicate malachite for the bedroom, Delicate Cream for the bathroom and the spare room the two would definitely claim (If Chopper got the porch, Zoro gets the sunroom) would be the Magic emerald. He hands the rest to Chopper, who picked out his colors. Winter white for his bedroom, Modern sapphire for the bathroom, the porch Antique lilac, and Sunrise peach for the spare room. "What should we paint the Living room?" Chopper asks, making himself comfortable next to Zoro on the loveseat. "How about Precarious blond? I think it'd be a nice color..." Zoro points at the light shade of blonde swatch. Chopper thinks for a moment before nodding, plucking the swatch from the remaining. "We can store the other paint cans until we want to paint something again." Chopper comments, looking up at the older man.

Zoro nods slightly, not moving just yet since he was comfortable on the couch. Johnny and Yosaku sat down on the other couch with loud sighs, sinking into the old thing. "Thanks for helping us move in." Zoro thanks after a moment of silence, slowly getting out of the chair and groaning when a lance of white-hot pain shot through him. Chopper was up in a moment getting ready to scold him when Zoro knocked his fist against the other lightly. "Stop worrying so much, keep it up and it'll be you that ends up in the hospital." Zoro joked, letting out a breathy laugh when the younger pouted. Johnny and Yosaku shared a laugh before getting up also. "So have you picked which room you want?" Johnny questioned, picking up boxes that had Zoro's name written on it with half-assed kanji.

"Un," Zoro nods, wandering upstairs and into the first master bedroom, the trio trailing after him. Johnny and Yosaku set down boxes before going back downstairs to bring up more. Zoro sat down on one of the windowsills and made himself somewhat comfortable through the pain, the younger hovering around him like a worried mother. Chopper hopped up onto the windowsill and cuddled against Zoro's side, the two soaking up the sun that warmed their skin from the window. "Johnny said he n' Yosaku are gonna paint your room first, and we got beds while we were out too," Chopper mumbled sleepily, tuckered out from being up from 2 in the morning driving when the others couldn't to almost 3 in the afternoon. "It's fine, just take a nap for now." Zoro murmured softly, rubbing a hand on top of Chopper's covered head. 

Chopper let out a tiny snore as he fell asleep on Zoro, said man picking him up and setting him down on his lap gently. "Aniki, that's so cuuute!" Yosaku chirped, setting down the last box of Zoro's things. He gave the duo the middle finger before looking down at the sleeping seventeen-year-old. "We're not bringing in the beds until later, so if you want to go downstairs n' sleep while we paint you can do so." One of the two said, helping Zoro off the sill and down the stairs with Chopper still in his arms. Zoro made a noise as they laid down on the cots, him tired from putting up with the pain. He took off Chopper's backpack and set it to the side, laying down with a hiss and immediately dropping into a fitful sleep.

When he awoke hours later (He thought it was the next day already), Zoro looked over into the kitchen from where he was laying to see Johnny, Yosaku, and Chopper standing around eating what looked to be onigiri. "Oh, you're awake Aniki!" Johnny called, making the other two look over. Zoro groaned loudly and turned his head up to look at the ceiling, Chopper bringing a plate of onigiri with him. He came over to Zoro and set the plate down beside him, pulling the blanket he had wrapped around him off to check the blood spotted bandages. He quietly and quickly changed the bandages before helping Zoro sit up so he can eat his food. "We finished painting everything a couple of hours ago, the paint cans out outside in the shed out back." Yosaku, who was covered with paint, said. 

Zoro nods slightly and eats his foot slowly, Chopper sitting next to him finishing off his own plate. "Did you guys already bring the bed in?" Zoro inquired, popping the last bit of sticky rice into his mouth and chewing it. "Yup, all you need to do is get pillows and but sheets on it," Johnny answered, taking the plate from Zoro. He nods and looked out the window in the living room, taking in the darkened sky. "What time is it?" He asks, looking around for where he could've placed his phone. "It's eight-thirty," Chopper states, taking the cherry flavored juice box he had in his lap and taking a long sip from it. A nod before his vision blurred for a moment and his head throbbed. "Ugh..." He moaned in pain, clutching his head for a moment.

Chopper stood up, discarding the empty juice box on the floor and pulling Zoro's hands away from his head. "Stop touching it!" He snapped, smacking the back of the green-haired man's hand. Zoro made a face at him before getting up off the cot. Chopper followed him to the kitchen, watching as Zoro looked at the freshly painted walls. He opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle and going to his room, Chopper still following him. He sat down on the edge of the baren bed and took a long sip from his water bottle. "What're you going to do with the porch?" Zoro asked after swallowing a mouthful of water. "Mmm... I'm probably going to use it to dry herbs." Chopper articulated.

Zoro nod slowly, eyes still droopy even though it's still early in the evening. "You don't have to keep youself up you know, it's not good since your injured." Chopper said, putting a tiny hand on Zoro's leg. Zoro flopped unceremoniuosly onto the bed and was out like a light, Chopper jumping off the bed to fetch a pillow and blanket from one of the open boxes inside the room. He lifted Zoro's head gently to place the pillow before he covered him with the blanket, turning off the light and leaving the door open behind him as he left. Chopper checked on the other two downstairs, who were conked out on the cots. He made sure all the lights in house are off and everything is locked before retreating to Zoro's room to snuggle up against him under the blanket ofter pulling off his beanie and setting down his bag.

_This is home now..._ Chopper thought happily as he doezed off into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Nosy Neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chopper discovers that the neighbors are very nosy while he was tending to the backyard with Johnny and Yosaku. Enter Nami and her girlfriends (Who tries to get the others to leave them alone). Many, many problems ensue with Zoro while they take care of the backyard and Chopper thinks he's gonna kill someone or throw Zoro out the window. Vivi is excited to meet Chopper and Zoro wants to crawl into a hole. (P.S. Zoro's a huge sass even though he's in pain)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember this! Blood itself is not classified as a Biohazard, but what could be in the blood could be, so always, ALWAYS be careful when cleaning up blood, whether it be dried or fresh blood. Also, there will be medical inaccuracies (because I am not a doctor) I will always do my research to the best of my abilities to make sure everything is as accurate as possible!

Chopper awoke with a loud yawn and the sun shining in his eyes. He sat up while rubbing his eyes and yawning again, checking over Zoro after he finished yawning before getting up to put on his beanie and backpack. Chopper tossed out the bloodied bandages downstairs and woke up Johnny and Yosaku. "Get up you two, we're cleaning up the backyard." Chopper pushed his small foot against their heads, nudging them awake. The two groaned loudly, complaining as they sat up and yawned. "It's sooo early Chopper-bro!" Johnny whined, knocking an arm against a dozing Yosaku. "It's ten-thirty!" Chopper screeched, kicking one of the two in the head. "You guys are helping me clean the backyard up, Zoro's sleeping in because he needs the rest." He growled out, shaking a fist at the now awake duo. 

They nod and hop up, going through the kitchen and sunroom to get into the backyard. "Oh, man... It's such a mess..." Yosaku sighed, looking down at the weed-covered stone path that led into a miniature garden. The garden was full of dead plants and the shed looked ready to fall apart. "Jesus," Chopper huffed, looking around the messy backyard. "You'd think the neighborhood would help keep the property clean." Johnny made a noise of agreement and made his way over to the shed, opening it up to see if he can find anything to help clean the backyard. Chopper swatted away the waist-high grass to step on the stone path and head into the garden. Inside was wilted flowers and browned bushes, a vine and moss-covered birdbath sitting in the center, and some mysterious-looking fungi growing off a rotting tree trunk that sat off to the side.

"Dude!" Johnny cried, catching the attention of the two. "All of the tools here are rusted!" Yosaku groaned and Chopper shook his head as he produced a book about fungi to determine what the hell was growing in the unkempt garden. "Chopper-bro, we're gonna go rent a lawnmower so we'll be right back!" Yosaku called, motioning for Johnny to follow. Chopper just nods as he plucks the mushroom off the bark. He listens to their footsteps fade before dropping his bag and reaching for a magnifying glass. He flits through the book in his lap before coming to a page and pointing at the picture of the mushroom he was holding. "Oh, it's just the garden variety..." Chopper sighed, putting his things away. He looked up past the browned bushes and screamed, jumping up and hiding behind the birdbath.

There, leaning over their dirty white picketed fence, was a busty woman wearing a simple white top with a pair of shorts, her hair a ginger orange reaching to the middle of her back. "W-Who are you?!" Chopper squeaked, blinking like an owl at the lady who appeared out of thin air. The woman with honey brown eyes smiled. "I'm Nami, I'm one of your neighbors! I heard a bunch of people shouting over here and came over to check." She explained, standing straight. Chopper went to stutter something out when he heard Johnny and Yosaku calling for him. He took the chance and scurried off, not looking back at the amused woman. Chopper opened the gate off to the side to let the two through. "We got some tools too! We didn't want to wake Aniki up just so he could give us his rust cleaning kit." Johnny held up a bag of gardening tools and a weedwhacker with a grin.

Yosaku immediately went to mowing the lawn, starting up the lawnmower and cutting the grass. "Who's the lady?" Johnny called over the noise of the lawnmower, motioning to the ginger still standing at the fence. "A neighbor!" Chopper shouts, pulling the other along to start uprooting the weeds that tied themselves around the stone path. Chopper pouted slightly as the woman bore metaphorical holes into him, trying to ignore her gaze as he pulled weeds and tossed them behind him. His face started to turn red when Johnny asked him why he was so tense, which prompted him to nearly blow up. "MY GOD WOMAN!" Chopper squealed, making Nami's eyes widen before she snorts. "CAN YOU GO AWAY OR SOMETHING??" Johnny coughed to cover a laugh while Yosaku kept mowing.

Nami covered her mouth and laughed, Chopper nearly fuming at her. He stomped over to the fence line to try and glare at her. "You're so cuuuute...!" She squealed, leaning over the fence a bit more to get a better look at the younger. Chopper froze mid-step before dancing around happily. "That doesn't make me happy, you asshole~!" He bubbled, prancing around in front of the woman. Chopper spun on his foot and look up at the house and nearly screamed, seeing Zoro who seemed to be up pulling on a black cap to hide his hair. "That BASTARD!" He screeched, making Yosaku look at the house. Chopper ran inside, leaving a cloud of dust as Nami blinked at the spot she just saw Chopper dancing. "What's going on over here?" Another female voice called, making Johnny turn with a bewildered face.

The woman who had come over had long bright sky blue hair, wearing a loose red tee that obviously wasn't hers and a pair of shorts also. Johnny halted his weed pulling and was about to ask who she was when the sound of Chopper's shrill voice (that reminded Johnny and Yosaku of Dr. Kureha sometimes) and a loud slam came from inside the house. Chopper came back outside with blood all over his hands and a very agitated look on his face, his usually bright sugar brown eyes full of unbridled anger. "What the hell happened?!" Yosaku exclaimed, shutting off the lawnmower after finishing and pulled out a dirt-covered towel to wipe the blood off Chopper's small hands. "He popped his sutures, AGAIN!" He growled, going over to the stone path and angrily pull out the weeds.

Yosaku slumped a bit before grabbing the weedwhacker to trim the line of grass pressed against the fence. Johnny made a worried face as he glanced at the two women perched at the fence, the blue-haired girl trying to get Nami away from the fence line. "What's that about sutures?" Nami asked, making Johnny yelp as he fumbled his hands. Yosaku nearly took his toe off with the weedwhacker and Chopper hid behind Johnny, glaring at the newcomer. "T-That's none of your business!" He cried, sticking his tongue out at them. "Vivi quit tugging on my shirt so much!" Nami gently pushed the girl's hand away and looked over at Chopper. "What do you mean? You said something about sutures." Nami states, looking at red polished nails.

"Nami that's enough!" Vivi exclaimed, planting her hands on her hips. "If you keep this up the neighbors will hate us!" A loud sniff left Yosaku as he quickly trimmed the fencing. Chopper glared at them one last time before finishing up pulling out the weeds before telling Johnny to uproot the bushes. Nami rolled her eyes and watched the trio continue working on the backyard, two out of the three trying their best to ignore the nosy women. "Yosaku," Chopper starts, catching the attention of the said man. "Can you help Johnny, I'll take care of the other stuff." Chopper walked over and took the clippers from Yosaku to trim down the rather young oak tree he was fussing with. He nods and heads over to the miniature garden where Johnny looks like he's about to pop a blood vessel pulling out dead bushes.

Chopper muttered and cursed about Zoro as he pulled himself up the tree and began clipping off any that sagged much too far for the tree. "So what brought you guys here to Aria?" Nami asked, peering up the tree at Chopper. "..." Chopper thought his words carefully as he clipped. "We moved here because... of an incident that happened in the city." Chopper said slowly, pulling off harmless ivy that clung to the tree. "An incident?" Vivi echoed, tapping her chin. "Yeah," Johnny butts in, nodding his head as he and Yosaku pulled out another bush. Nami looked over at Vivi, who tilts her head in question. "Right, I heard about a super bad car accident and the injured man refused to go to the hospital." Chopper nearly fell out of the tree as the duo though about impaling themselves on the dead bushes.

"Oi, Chopper-bro, shouldn't you go see if he's hungry or something?" Yosaku bit out, ignoring the two women now. Chopper hopped out the tree, dropping the tools and rushing inside. "What was that about? Does it have something to do with you guys?" Nami asked, but the two didn't answer her. Vivi pushed her shoulder gently, a deep frown on her face. "Don't ask questions like that!" She snapped, jabbing her finger against the woman's shoulder. The two finished pulling out the bushes and made way to pulling the vines off the birdbath when Chopper peaked his head out from the sunroom. "Uh, can you guys go away now??" Chopper squeaked, lips pursed. Nami shook her head. "I just want to get to know you guys better." She shrugged when her girlfriend hit her shoulder.

Vivi gave an apologetic look as Chopper scurried over to the duo now scraping off moss from the stone. "Aniki did what??" They shriek, everyone in the vicinity wincing. Chopper pulled away with an upset face, "So can you go to the pharmacy? Say it's from Doctor Chopper and they'll give it to you, if not..." He pulled a paper with a scribbled mess on it. "Give this to them. Now hurry, or else he's gonna bite my head off!" Chopper squeaked, pushing the paper at them and watching them run off. Chopper turned to the two women who looked at him with surprised expressions. "You're Doctor Chopper?!" Vivi gasped, shoving Nami out of the way to lean over the fence (nearly falling over it in the process). Chopper jumped and hid behind the birdbath. "S-So what if I am?!" He fumed, his voice trembling slightly at the sudden excitement.

Vivi rocked on her feet as she vibrated with happiness. "I knew your name was familiar! One of the doctors at Red Line Hospital said you worked under Dr. Kureha and Dr. Hiriluk!" She all but squealed, Chopper letting out a loud squawk at the two names mentioned. "D-Doctorine?! How do you know about her?!" He snapped, glaring at the woman. "Oh? I've met Doctor Kureha before! So are you gonna work at the hospital?" Vivi asked, bouncing. Chopper shook his head vehemently and was about to state why but covered his mouth at the near slip-up. "Go away you nosy women!" He cried, taking off in the direction off the house. "Aww..." Vivi sighed, turning to her laughing girlfriend. They heard loud shouts of Chopper yelling at someone followed by loud pained yelps and then a bang. More screaming that was chorused by two new yells. "What the hell is going on in there?" Nami questioned, raising an eyebrow at the house full of yelling.

Vivi made a concerned face and shrugged. Johnny came out through the sunroom carrying a man on his back with a horrified looking Yosaku and an eerily calm looking Chopper. "This is what I mean! He could've killed himself!" Chopper howled, Johnny setting down the capped man and facing his back towards the women to hide the man. "Do you see what you've done?! You TORE it open after it started healing!! I don't give a damn if you said it was on accident!!" Chopper looked like he was about to hit the man he was screaming at. "I told you to lay down because of your depth perception you dumbass!" Chopper scolds, making Johnny move the man to the shade underneath the deck. Nami and Vivi watched the rather animated scene with rapt interest.

"I said I was sorry! I didn't know you guys left the fucking boxes out in the damn KITCHEN!" the man that was hidden behind Johnny and Yosaku shouted at Chopper, who bristled as he procured a needle from his bag. Chopper leaned in close to Zoro's face. "Keep this up and I'm gonna staple you, and those hurt a lot more than Sutures. Now quit putting up a fuss because people are outside right now, and two of them are at the fence line." Chopper hissed, pulling up the loose shirt Zoro wore to assess the damage. "Jeez Aniki, we can't even trust you inside by yourself now." Yosaku sighed, shaking his head. Zoro made a face at the two men as Chopper pulled off the blood-drenched bandages. "You are no longer going anywhere without supervision." Chopper states, snipping away the bandages and dumping them into the trashbag Johnny brought out. 

"WHAT?!" Zoro screeched, eye going wide with near comical horror. "Aniki, you almost got blood on the floor! That's a biohazard y'know," Yosaku cut him off before he could start spouting nonsense, crossing his arms over his chest. Zoro growled and then stifled a yelp when the blood was wiped away while Chopper damn well near jammed the needle into him. "Don't- don't do that!" Zoro chastised, glaring at the small but deft hands that stitched the laceration on his chest and torso closed. "Doctor's orders asshat." Chopper grumbled as he finished stitching the wound that was torn open who knows how many times at this point. "What's going on over there?!" Nami shouts, making Chopper pull the last stitch a little too hard. Zoro nearly sobbed in pain.

"UH, Uh oh god... Uh..." Johnny stuttered, only for Zoro to cut Johnny off. "DON'T. ANSWER. THEM." He grinds, chest heaving as Chopper apologized profusely as he quickly tied up the medical-grade thread and cut off the extra thread. Zoro slumped and panted in exertion, the exposed part of his face contorted in anger. "Stupid people..." Zoro huffed as Chopper binding him up with bandages and gauze. Johnny stayed next to him even after Chopper and Yosaku went back to cleaning up the backyard. "Aniki, are you okay?" Johnny asked when Zoro started making himself comfortable on the ground. "I'm fine, I'm fine, just go help them before Chopper falls out of the tree." Zoro showed him away with a wave of his hand. Johnny nods and retreats to help Chopper, who was currently climbing up the tree. 

Zoro pulled the black cap he wore the other day further down his face to hide the bandages and turned his head to see the two women Chopper mentioned while they were still in the house. He blinked lazily at them as they stared at him. "Who are you?" Nami asked, earning her a pinch on the hip from Vivi. "The owner of the house." Zoro drawls, eyes feeling a little heavy as he gave the two girls a bored look. The girls made a confused face when he went back to facing forward and fell asleep, making them think of a certain freckled ink black-haired man. "Uh, is your friend okay?" Vivi asked, turning to the garden where the trio now were after fucking around with the tree. "He'll be fine, leave him alone." Chopper warned, an underlying threat laced in the words.

Nearly thirty bags later and it now three in the afternoon with Zoro drifting in and out of consciousness during the time they were cleaning (along with the nosy Nami not leaving where she had been standing since they met). Chopper sighed loudly and fell back onto the cut grass, Johnny and Yosaku doing the same. "Oi Chopper," Zoro called, making the said seventeen-year-old jump up and go over. "My eyes sticky and itchy, do something about it." Zoro deadpanned, making the worried teenager heave a sigh. Yosaku heaved himself up and went over to hide the two as Chopper checked him over. Chopper slipped off the cap and snipped away the bandages, gently pealing them (and the thick wad of gauze) away slowly. 

Zoro's lid fluttered softly as Chopper wiped away the blood with a towelette that reeked out isopropyl alcohol. "This is gonna sting, the blood's all congealed and the scab is starting to form so that's why it's itchy." Chopper explained as he dabbed the wound gently, dried blood flaking away and the rest being picked up by the now crimson towelette. Zoro winced as he continued cleaning the wound, probing at the irritated tissue around it with what looked like a wooden stick they stick in your mouth. "Does it hurt when I do this?" Chopper asked, probing the skin once again. Zoro furrowed his brow as he tried to feel the sensation. "I... I can't feel anything..." He divulged softly, a heavy sigh escaping his nose.

Chopper nods as he takes a closer look, eyes narrowing a bit. "Your eye is damaged, so you'll most certainly be blind in that eye if you can ever open it again... but I highly doubt that since there will be a scar that'll probably seal the lid shut," Chopper said, pulling the skin taut to try and crack the eye open a little. Zoro yowled when he pulled and pushed his hand away, covering the wound with a glare. "Don't do THAT!" He growled, leaning away from Chopper a bit as his tiny hands went to move his hand. "Sorry, but that's the only way to check at the moment," Chopper apologized softly, taking Zoro's hand and moving it to finish checking it. "Most of the nerves are damaged, so for the next few days, your skin is going to be dark and yellowed, probably swollen too... I can't guarantee that the scarring will be major, but I can promise that your face won't look mangled." The younger reassured, just wrapping the wound with bandages.

"Dang Aniki, I wish something could be done..." Yosaku frowned, moving out of the way when Zoro put the cap back on. Chopper took a few paces back and held out his hands. He closed both his hands before showing three fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up?" Chopper asked, watching intently as Zoro blinked for a moment. "Three." Chopper nods and lowered his hands. "Okay... so it hasn't affected your distance too bad, but I need to check your depth perception." He concludes, producing a ball from his bag. He hands it to Yosaku and stands next to Zoro (the girls obviously forgotten about). "Focus on the ball okay?" Chopper points at the ball Yosaku is holding. "Okay..." Zoro nods and focuses his one misty grey-green eye on the ball.

Chopper took his hands and held them up, tucking all the fingers except the two index fingers that now pointed at each other. He slowly pushed them together. "Can you see the tips of your fingers facing the opposite ways inside the ball?" He asked, making mental notes. "Uh..." Zoro starts, refocusing before shaking his head. "No." Chopper let go of his hands and took the ball away from Yosaku, putting it away. "Okay, it's going to take a while for the depth perception to correct itself, and we can't do patching since you lost your left eye..." Chopper muttered, tapping his chin. "For now all we can do is have you move around until your eye adapts." Zoro nods and gives a smile. "Thanks, doc." Zoro thanks, having Yosaku help him up. 

Chopper let out a delighted squeal and danced around, waving his arms. "That doesn't make me happy, you dumbass~!" Chopper sang, dancing around Zoro. Zoro smiled as Chopper danced around, fixing his cap a bit and facing away from the fence so his back was to the still watching girls. "You guys are very nosy, y'know that?" Zoro scoffed, making Chopper stop dancing to peer at the girls. "What can I say? You guys have been yelling most of the morning, so I and my Girlfriend came to check it out. So, we hear your little friend over there shouting at we assume to be you in the house." Nami explained, motioning to Chopper. "Okay and? You want a medal for being nosy?" Zoro jeered, Yosaku making a distressed noise at him.

Nami laughed, Vivi shook her head and tugged on her girlfriend's arm. "You're from the city right?" She asks, watching them all nod. "No wonder the attitude," She laughed again before smiling. "You don't have to worry about anything here." Zoro snorted before groaning as his head throbbed with pain. Chopper tugged on the loose sweatpants he wore and said, "You've been having a lot of headaches, are you sure everything's okay?" Chopper murmured, Johnny picking him up to hand him to Zoro. "Yeah, it's fine Chopper," Zoro reassured, nodding his head a bit. "Um..." Vivi suddenly piped up, raising a finger. "If you want to, you can join us for a stakeout we're having tomorrow..." Vivi flushed a little when Johnny and Yosaku looked at the other two.

Zoro looked at Chopper, who looked nervous. "I, uh, I don't know... I'm not good with strangers and I need to take care of Zoro..." He said the last part to himself and covered his cheeks with his hands. "It's up to you Chopper, I'm not making any calls at the moment." He tilts his head a bit before swaying on his feet for a moment. Johnny was at his side at an instant, steadying him. "Are you okay Aniki?" Johnny asked, holding him up as Chopper jumped from his arms. Chopper immediately fussed with him as he slummed, waves of dizziness rushing through him. "I-Uh..." Chopper panicked, waving his hands around wildly. "Yes! If it gets you to leave us alone then fine!" Chopper huffed, relaxing when Zoro told him he was just dizzy.

Nami smiled a rather wicked smile, said something about the time and they better be on time. Vivi shook her head and pushed her girlfriend to the house to get her inside. "Sorry about her, but I do hope to see you there tomorrow Dr. Chopper!" Vivi gave a bright smile and a wave before returning to her home with her girlfriend. Zoro slumped against Johnny and mumbled a few things before falling asleep. "Looks like we should head inside, I'll bring him to bed and you guys can make something to eat." Johnny heaved Zoro onto his back, entering the sunroom with the other two and heading upstairs into Zoro's furnished room (they had done it while Chopper and Zoro slept because Johnny and Yosaku got restless).

After putting Zoro to bed, Johnny headed downstairs to have their early dinner and rearrange the living room into Chopper's fitting, taking out the stand for the TV and everything else that would go into a living room. They heard the stairs creak while setting up the glass coffee table Chopper ordered the day before they left, Yosaku being the one to turn and see Zoro walking down the stairs while gripping the wooden (and paint covered) banister that acted as a railing. "Aniki!" Yosaku chirped, glad he was feeling better after his nap. "We left food in the microwave for you, it's curry with rice!" Yosaku went back to helping the younger while Johnny heaved around a flatscreen TV that was bigger than himself.

Zoro nods and went into the kitchen to grab his food and came back to watch the busybodies work around until the living room was furnished and actually looked like a living room. "One of you is gonna have to keep an eye on me while we're at that stupid stakeout tomorrow." Zoro states as he shoved rice covered with curry into his mouth. "We know, with the prescription Chopper gave you, there's no way you're gonna want to get up and socialize." Johnny jokes, crying out when Chopper stomped on his foot. "Don't listen to him," Chopper glared at him before turning to an eating Zoro. "You know you don't have to socialize, I'm making us go so they'll leave us alone." Chopper sighed, flopping onto his back.

Zoro nods and continues eating, thinking for a moment. "Won't you have to socialize then? I mean, there's no way in hell I want anyone to see the mess I'm in right now." Zoro grumbled to himself, shoving the spoon into his mouth. "That blue-haired girl-" "Her name is Vivi." "She seemed to be understanding, but not so much her girlfriend." Johnny waved his downturned hands that were covered in dust. "Whatever, I just want to make sure nobody sees my face." Zoro waved an angry hand at the bandages that covered his face. "Don't worry," Chopper reassured, sitting up to look at Zoro. "I'm gonna stick around you so you don't exert yourself so there's nothing to really worry about." Chopper explains with a few motions of his hand.

Zoro nods and finished up what was left on his plate before stepping into the kitchen to clean it up. He peaked out the window above the sink to see the sky had darkened quite a bit, making him check the phone he had pocketed in his favorite black sweatpants. His phone showed the time in neat white numbers before he pocketed the phone. He wandered back into the living room and noticed that Johnny and Yosaku had crashed on the two loveseats situated on either side of the couch. Chopper waited at the stairs for him, motioning for Zoro to retire to their beds (actually Zoro's because Chopper's room barely had the bed). Zoro nods and followed the seventeen-year-old to his room and fell back asleep the moment he hit the pillows.

Chopper made himself comfortable on the empty space the bed and eventually fell asleep. He'll check the wounds before they go to that stakeout tomorrow.


	3. The Stakeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro, Chopper, Yosaku, and Johnny go to the stakeout and meet the other neighbors. Enter Luffy and his two older brothers, a rather chaotic bunch. Luffy is a ball of energy who can't seem to leave Zoro alone, no matter how many times he may get shoed away. Sabo and Ace don't trust them and Zoro just wants to be left alone while Chopper tries hard not to lose his shit. Luffy knocked Zoro's hat off and chaos ensues, Zoro is thoroughly embarrassed and mortified, Johnny and Yosaku think they're gonna cry and Chopper wants to choke Luffy until he's purple in the face, then he goes to apologize and realizes Zoro's self-conscious and wants to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sweet lovelies, college is just so hard but I promise I will deliver you the best of the best no matter what! There will be slow updates now that the school year is starting but I will triumph to give you all that you want! Do enjoy this chapter! Also, I swear Luffy has ADHD tendencies since he just does everything on a whim, so if he seems more spastic than how he's usually portrayed, whoopsies.

Zoro woke up with a groggy headache, Chopper nudging him awake as he complained about him sleeping the whole morning away. "You idiot! You missed breakfast!" Chopper hissed, pulling away the pinked bandages that Zoro wore. Zoro made no point to move as he blinked slowly at the brunette. Chopper helped him up after he changed the bandages and picked out a loose shirt and sweats for him to wear. "How're you feeling?" Chopper asked as he helped Zoro put on the shirt. "Mm..." Zoro mumbled a bit before rubbing his uninjured eye. "Alright, a little sluggish." Zoro clarified and pulled on the loose sweats. "That's expected, are you sure you'll be okay?" Chopper asked, helping Zoro up and down the stairs to put something in his stomach.

"As long as I'm left alone for the most part, I think I'll be fine." Zoro huffed as he sat down in the chair pulled out from the wooden table in the dining room connected to the kitchen. Chopper made some scrambled eggs and toast for Zoro, something light for his stomach so he doesn't feel like throwing up later if the pain gets too much. Johnny came in with Yosaku trailing after him, hands covered in paint. "We finished your rooms Chopper-bro, we're gonna go get cleaned up n' stuff." Johnny waved his paint dried hands as Yosaku began washing his hands in the kitchen sink. "Okay, make yourself something to eat before we go over," Chopper sighed, watching as Zoro nearly inhaled his late breakfast. "Do you know what time this stupid stakeout is?" Zoro asked, leaning back in his seat as Chopper washed the plate once Yosaku finished cleaning his hands. 

"We'll be heading over once Johnny cleans up," Yosaku answers, giving Zoro his black cap and wiping his hands with a towel draped over the stainless steel handle of the oven. "Okay," Zoro heaves a sigh as Chopper mumbled a few things to Yosaku. "You need more rest so no walking around for you, especially since the sutures are probably going to make your wound sore and tender to the touch." Chopper explained, adjusting his backpack and the tiny blue cardigan he wore over a white top. Zoro made a noise of acknowledgment and waited for Johnny to come back down from the shower he was taking, pulling on the cap. Yosaku made work to dress a little more presentable while Johnny finished up his shower upstairs. 

Yosaku heaved Zoro onto his back once Johnny joined them outside and they made the short trip to the neighbor's yard and to the front porch, Chopper knocking on the red-painted door. The door opened to show Vivi in a white sundress and a big smile. "You guys made it!" She smiled, stepping out of the way to let the group into the home. "Everyone's outside in the back, I'll take you there," Vivi explained, leading them through the homey living room and creme colored kitchen into the backyard. "How are you feeling Aniki?" Yosaku asked as he stepped down the wooden stairs gingerly, making sure not to jostle Zoro too much. "Tense." He states, Chopper slowing down and then hiding behind Zoro once he was set down on his feet for a moment.

Many people stood around the few picnic tables and mikan trees, a very tall and oddly disproportional man with hair bluer than Vivi, a woman with orange shades nestled into her black hair that reached her back stood next to the man. Nami was there too, chasing after a very tall and lanky man who had a huge smile on his face and a large afro with a comically small top hat on top. A man standing in front of the grill had short blond hair and a goatee, half his face hidden by the blonde curtain. A man with black frizzy hair and a small speck of black on his chin held to little girls in his arm as he sat down next to a blonde woman who the group assumed to be his wife. A trio stood off near the grill, a man with short wavy black hair and freckles splattered all over his cheeks and nose with a blond male with a scar over his left eye, his hair also wavy as he wore an odd top hat with goggles sitting on it. A very animated boy with a scar under his left eye and a jagged 'x' over his expose chest wore a straw hat over short messy black hair.

The man with freckles wore a cowboy hat with what looked like goggles or glasses of some sort with a rosemary necklace, yelling at the younger boy for drooling all over himself while the blonde let out a hearty laugh. Chopper squeaked when Zoro stumbled a bit, Yosaku immediately picking him before he fell and walking over to the picnic table with a red-checkered table cloth draped over the wood. Zoro huffed and pulled the cap lower to his face as Johnny waved and greeted a few of the people that approached them. Zoro was set down against the seat and Chopper jumped up to plop himself in his lap, a few of the girls there cooing about how cute he was. A girl with long pink hair and a tan woman with black hair approached them with sweet smiles.

"You must new to the neighborhood!" The pink hair girl started, a bright smile on her face. "My name is Rebecca, and this is my sister Viola." The dark-skinned woman gave a slight wave as Chopper covered his blushing cheeks and insulted them. Zoro made a noise and snapped at Chopper to stop fussing around so much as Johnny introduced them. "I'm Johnny, that's Yosaku. The little guy is Chopper and that's the owner of the house, Zoro." He points at the other three. Another woman approached but she looked more bashful, her blue eyes full of shyness as she approached the group. "H-hi! I-I'm Shirahoshi." She greets, bowing at the waist. Rebecca smiled at the girl whose pink hair was much lighter than her's was pulled back into a simple ponytail.

Soon, they found them surrounded by everyone else, the blue-haired man introducing himself as Franky, his purple-haired friend named Iceberg (so weird, the group thought), and his girlfriend named Nico Robin. The tall lanky man named Brook and the man cooking named Sanji. The trio came up and introduced themselves. "I'm Ace," The freckled man starts, motioning to himself. "This is my brother Sabo and younger brother Luffy." He points at the blonde who gave a curt nod of the head and then the boy who waved with a childish smile on his face. Chopper introduced himself and was immediately whisked up to the arms of Luffy who nearly shouted about how cool he looked. Zoro sat up quickly to take the younger back but winced as a sharp pain shot through him.

"Let me go, you weirdo!" Chopper cried, jumping out of the arms tight around him and went to Zoro who looked mildly distressed. "Are you okay?" Chopper asked, freaking out over the capped male who slumped against the table with a pained noise. Ace narrowed his eyes and was about to ask what's the problem when Johnny immediately cut in by asking what Sanji is cooking on the grill. Zoro shoed Luffy away with a sharp look, Sabo dragging the whining boy away as Johnny continued to talk to Ace. Yosaku heaved a sigh when Ace finally decided to leave them alone, shooting them one last look before going off to find his brothers. "That was way too close." Johnny groaned, sitting down at the table. Zoro made a noise as Chopper noticed the little family approach them.

The man with frizzy black hair and oddly long nose was smiling, his two kids on his hips bubbling with laughter as his wife followed after him. He said his name is Usopp, and the woman is his wife, Kaya, making Chopper perk up when he saw the two girls. "Oh? This is Merry," Usopp turned a bit to show Merry, an eight-year-old with short white hair and big doe brown eyes. "And this is Sunny!" He turned again to show the other eight-year-old with shoulder-length blonde and orange mixed hair, brown eyes that matched her sisters. "So cute!" Chopper squealed, jumping down to play with the girls as the couple watched with amusement. Usopp made small talk with Johnny and Yosaku while Kaya sat down next to Zoro, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"Is he your son?" She asked, nearly making Zoro wheeze loudly. "N-no! Uh, no he's just someone I've been close with for a while now." Zoro coughed, hiding his embarrassment as Kaya let out a sweet chuckle. "I see..." She nods, going back to watching Chopper dance with eight-year-olds. "How old is he?" "Seventeen, going onto eighteen soon." He answered, absentmindedly rubbing the wound bandaged up through his shirt. "Are you injured?" She turned to Zoro who stopped what he was doing and Johnny tensed when he heard. "Ah, I-" Zoro was interrupted by someone nearly crashing into the table, loud howls of laughter behind him as. "You dumbass!" Ace wheezed, rolling around on the ground as he laughed. Zoro made a pained noise at the sudden jolt, Kaya and Chopper fretting over him.

Sabo was off to the side shaking his head and apologizing profusely to Johnny as Usopp tried not to laugh at the disgruntled face of Zoro. Luffy giggled as he pushed away from the table, pushing his straw hat off his head and have it hang around his neck as he tried to apologize to Zoro through bouts of laughter. "Luffy-Senpai! You need to be more careful!" A man who looked kind of like a chicken came running up, a busty woman with long black hair coming after the guy with lime green hair. Luffy shook his hands and apologized with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Sorry, Sorry!" He chuckled, turning to Zoro with a smile. Chopper jumped up in front of Luffy, swearing at him up and down as Kaya continually asked if Zoro was okay.

Ace intervened as some of the onlookers watched with amusement. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ace said, Sabo, making a face at Zoro as he shifted his skewed cap and caught the sight of bandages before Johnny was standing in front of him. "Your brother needs to be more careful!" Was all Chopper said before he told Johnny to help him bring Zoro inside to take a look at him. Nami came up with her arms crossed and the trio immediately barraged her with questions. "Is he okay?" Sabo asked, pushing between his energetic brothers. "I don't know, all I know is that he's seriously injured." She shrugged, calling over her girlfriend. Sabo turned to house to barely see them through the kitchen window, Johnny panicking by the looks of it.

"So distrustful," Vivi joked, making Sabo jump and then rub the back of his neck. "Can't help it, Luf is interested in seeing his face." Sabo divulged, Ace trying to keep the said boy from dashing into the house and make a mess of things. "Luffy!" The same black-haired girl from earlier called, trying to show off her bosom to the nineteen-year-old while the other boy called after him. "Hammock!" Luffy smiled, the girl who's actually named Hancock, nearly collapsing into an unintelligible heap. "Bartolomew!" He hugged both of them as they made incoherent noises before dragging them off. Yosaku made an awkward noise. "He's uh, really energetic." He points out, a slightly worried look on his face. "Don't worry, by the time everything's done cooking, he'll be somewhat tuckered out." Nami waved a hand as Vivi chuckled.

Johnny came back with Zoro on his back and Chopper with a somewhat angry face. "Are you okay?" Sabo asked when they passed, only to see the one eye visible closed in what looked like pain. "Leave him alone, he needs to rest." Chopper snapped, making Ace jump and look down at the much shorter boy. Luffy, who was bouncing around with Rebecca and Shirahoshi when he saw Zoro being set down at the picnic table, made his way over there once the others near him dispersed, except for Chopper but he didn't care much. "Oi!" Luffy called, coming over to the older who was side-eyeing him like he had the plague. "Your name's Zoro right?" Luffy asked, sitting down next to the male much to the dismay of Chopper.

He nods, and Luffy's smile widened. "Cool name! Can I see your face?" Luffy leaned in close and Zoro planted a hand on the other's face, pushing him away with a sharp no and telling him to leave him alone. Johnny and Yosaku were off in different spots socializing with the abundance of people when Luffy came back no more than a few minutes to bother Zoro again, Ace and Sabo watching from where they were drinking beer with Franky and his girlfriend, Robin. "Oi, leave me alone!" Zoro snapped, pushing away Luffy's hand that prodded his exposed cheek, Chopper shouting curses at him. Luffy ignored Chopper and asked all sorts of questions, making Zoro more irritated by the second until he was whisked away by a cooing Hancock, Luffy's face twisting as he said a few mean words to her that didn't nothing to stop her from dragging him away. 

"He's a nuisance." Chopper sighed, poking at the plate of chips he grabbed earlier. Zoro made a noise of agreement and stole of few of the chips, eating them as he and Chopper chatted softly. "So how does the laceration feel? Aside from it being tender, is it itchy?" Chopper asked, thanking the stars he did not have to replace the bandages after the small fiasco. "A little but it's nothing bothersome." Zoro sighed, taking the plate that Chopper pushed to him and finishing up the rest of the chips. Luffy came bounding over after finally getting away from Hancock, Zoro frowning as Luffy sat down next to him once more, bugging him until Chopper opened his mouth. "Can't you leave him alone?" Chopper asked, an angry face as Zoro just groaned in response.

"Huh? I'm just wanna talk to him since he looks lonely." Luffy pouts, crossing his arms over his lean yet muscular chest. Chopper puffed his cheeks out and turned his head away, making Luffy snicker. Zoro leaned his head back when a hand shot out with the intention of snatching his hat. "Whoa!" Zoro yelped, planting a hand on the cap to make sure it doesn't get snatched. "Hey! I didn't say you could do that!" Zoro snapped, flicking Luffy on the center of his forehead with a very angry look on his face. "But why not? I want to see what the rest of your face looks like!" Luffy whined, making Zoro's cheek flush red with embarrassment as Chopper made a noise of complaint. Luffy spouted a bit of nonsense as Zoro argued with him until he moved his elbow and knocked the cap off.

Zoro let out a yelp as Chopper practically clung to his face, shoving his beanie onto his head to shouting obscenities at Luffy, everyone watching with wide eyes. Johnny, Yosaku, Sabo, and Ace came running over, confusion was written all over Luffy's and his brother's face as the other two hastily put the cap back on Zoro, his entire face and neck bright red as Luffy blinked. Vivi coughed and Nami watched as Zoro staggered to his feet before rushing into the house, Chopper trying not to choke Luffy as Sabo chastised him for his recklessness. Johnny apologized to the others watching and rushed after Zoro, Yosaku following, and then Chopper once he lectured Ace and Sabo for not keeping an eye on their brother very well.

"What just happened?" Nami asked, coming over to the stunned Luffy. "I accidentally knocked his hat off and he freaked out." Luffy shrugged, Sabo sighing loudly. "Zoro had bandages all over his face..." Luffy mumbled to himself, wondering how Zoro could've gotten injured. "You should go and apologize..." Vivi urged gently, everyone going back to chatting with each other. Luffy nods and gets up from where he's sitting to go find Zoro in the house. He finds them in the living room, Chopper fretting over the injured male as he buried his head under one of the many pillows on the couch. "Aniki! I don't think anyone else saw anything." Johnny consoled, resting a hand on one of the muscled arms. Luffy watched the scene play out for a moment.

"Shut up." Came the muffled voice, Chopper bouncing on his feet nervously. "This sucks so much! He probably saw my face!" Zoro sat up, pillow falling from his head as he sits up. Luffy's brows furrowed before he cleared his throat. "Ahem..." Zoro nearly jumped a foot in the air with everyone else, Luffy smiling a bit when Chopper spazzed out for a moment. "You!" Chopper howled, pointing a finger at him. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry!" Luffy immediately interjects, making the seventeen-year-old pause. "I don't know why you should hide an injury like that but I don't really care," Luffy shrugged motioning to the scar on his bared chest and face. "Anyway, you shouldn't be so nervous! Your hair looks pretty cool too!" Luffy smiled, watching as Zoro reached up and held the cap down on his head. 

"You don't care how he looks?" Johnny asked, looking at Luffy like a head just grew out of his ass. "Why should I? I have plenty of scars, and so does Sabo." Luffy crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head like he was thinking about something. "Are you self-conscious 'cause you're afraid of how you might look?" Luffy questions, pushing a finger against his forehead. Zoro clicked his tongue and turned away, brow furrowed. "Shishishi!" He laughed, taking everyone by surprise. "Shanks was like that too! It doesn't matter, everyone here has scars of some sort, even if they're not noticeable." Luffy's bright smile softened as he came over to the group, Zoro's face still red. "Sh-shut up, you don't know anything!" Chopper faltered, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Shishishi!" It was that laugh again, breathy with a slight hiss. "I don't hafta know how you got those injuries to know they're gonna scar, dummies." Luffy knocked his knuckles against Chopper's head, smiling. Zoro sniffed at him as Johnny and Yosaku excused themselves. "How do you know?!" Chopper pointed at him against, jumping onto the couch to get in the older's face. "When someone's bandaged up like that, there's a good chance that wound is gonna scar," Luffy states it's a world-known fact. Chopper blinked at him and then sat down in between them, mumbling to himself. Zoro grumbled and tugged the cap lower until he could only see his only good eye. "That's easy for you to say," Zoro starts, sounding angry. "You're not the one covered in bandages." Luffy shook his head and pulled off Zoro's cap, shoving his straw hat onto his head.

Zoro blinked at Luffy, stunned at the action. "What a dummy," Luffy snorts, a big smile on his face. "I wear my scars with pride! I got this one by stabbing myself in the face, I was super dumb when I was a kid," Luffy points at the scar under his eye, his dark brown eyes full of mirth. "And this one was a crazy accident me and Ace got into, I was left with severe third-degree burns while he almost got a hole put in him!" As pained as Luffy sounded, the smile never left his face as he covered the scar on his chest. "So don't worry about how you look, and you'll be fine. Now, I should get back before everyone eats all the meat! Make sure to give me back my straw hat before you leave!" Luffy was up and out of the living room, bumbling outside and screaming something that had everyone laughing.

Chopper looked up at Zoro to see tears in his eye, making him jump up and fret over him. "Does it hurt??" Chopper asked, getting ready to pull Zoro's shirt off and look at his wounds. Zoro shook his head, wiping away the tears and then laughing. "I don't even know who he is, and he's so nice that idiot." Zoro picked Chopper up as he got up from the couch, slowly making his way into the kitchen. "You look funny with a straw hat..." Chopper mused softly, giggling when Zoro stuck his tongue out at him. "I'd rather wear my cap he took off with or my bandana." Zoro huffed, stepping outside and down the stairs as Chopper hung out on his shoulder that wasn't wounded. Nami spotted them and gave them a smile before coming over with some of her other friends. 

"Welcome to the crew, Marimo," Sanji smirked, lighting a cigarette. Zoro bristled for a moment before asking, "The crew?" Robin nodded, resting her hand on Franky's comically large bicep. "Yes, Luffy thinks of you as his friend already, isn't that so sweet?" She giggled and tilts her head, a smile dancing on her pinked lips. Chopper giggled and jumped onto the ground, dancing while wiggling his arms around. "That doesn't make me happy, you bastards~!" Chopper squealed, cheeks pink and a big smile on his lips as he pranced around the group. "Yohohoho! It's such a joyous time that I could just sing!" Brook laughed, twirling around as he produced a violin from the case he had with him. Franky clapped his hands together a few times.

"SUPER!" Franky cried as he struck an odd pose that had Chopper giggling. "Luffy's very understanding no matter the person, so it's no surprise he accepted you right away." Usopp smiled, his two daughters chasing after Chopper with loud giggles. Zoro nods and sees Sabo and Ace coming over from the corner of his eye, making him turn. Ace just raised an eyebrow as Sabo smiled a bit, head bouncing along with the tunes Brook produced from his violin as everyone grew more boisterous. He could see Hancock shooting glares at him from time to time as the group Zoro found out everyone called "the mugiwara's" chatted with him. "What's with her?" Zoro asked, subtly motioning to Hancock as he hung around what looked to be her sisters. 

"Oh, her?" Franky asked, laughing a bit. "She's head over heels in love with Luffy even tried to convince him to marry her but he refuses every time! I swear he's like a rock or something." Franky exclaimed, smiling when everyone shared a laugh. Zoro nods, his laceration aching a bit. He rubbed a hand over his chest and was rewarded with a pinch to his knee that had him nearly screeching with pain as the fingers twisted. Sanji and Usopp looked slightly mortified when they looked to see Chopper pinching him. "Stop rubbing it, idiot! They'll get infected if you keep rubbing." Chopper hissed, letting go of the now red patch of skin. "Okay, okay! Just stop pinching me already!" Zoro growled, knocking his fist against the teenager's head. 

"I know you're injured, but can we ask how you got injured?" Kaya asked, clasping her hands together. Chopper shook his head and the questions stopped there, thankfully Zoro didn't want to answer. Zoro sat down at one of the picnic tables near the mikan trees, sighing when his sutures no longer felt so tight as everyone else went back to talking with the others. "Are you hungry?" A voice asked, making Zoro shift a bit to see Johnny holding a plate with a burger, some fries, and chips. Zoro nods and takes the plate, setting it down plate and eating. "How do you feel?" Yosaku asked, coming up with a plate for him and Johnny. "Dry..." Zoro said between mouthfuls, Johnny calling Chopper from the crowd of people gathered around him. 

"What's wrong?" He asked, a girl with short blonde hair trailing after him with another girl with short medium-dark green hair. "Zoro says his sutures feel dry," Yosaku states, looking at the two girls. "Oh this is Carrot, and that's Camie." Chopper motioned to them before sitting down next to Zoro and rummaging through his bag. "Ah shoot!" Chopper groaned, pulling out an empty tube of petroleum jelly. "It looks like I just ran out, maybe Nami has some I can get from her." Chopper got up, telling Zoro he would be right back and to stay right there as he went to go look for Nami amongst the crowd. "Oi, Zoro!" Luffy called, bouncing over with a big smile as he swings around the cap on his fingers. Zoro lifted his head from his plate to look up at Luffy underneath the straw hat.

"Luffy..." He starts, watching him plop down next to him and try to steal his food. Zoro smacked his hand away. "Hey! Get your own food!" Zoro snaps, glaring at him. "Aw..." Luffy huffed, planting his cheek into one of his hands. "What do you want?" Zoro asked, shoveling food into his mouth to make sure Luffy doesn't try to steal his food again. "Making sure you're okay! Geez, you looked super-uncomfortable when you were talking to the others." Luffy drawled, swinging the cap around. Zoro swallowed his food and get the urge to rub his sutures but refrained from doing so. "'M fine, don't worry," Zoro grumbled, hearing Chopper call out to him as he held a jar full of vaseline. "I got it! now hold your shirt up." Chopper ordered, Johnny and Yosaku rearranging themselves so no one would see what Luffy thought was going to be a horrific sight. 

Instead, he was greeted with a large, pink, and slightly bloodied laceration that bisected his chest and torso. It stretched from his left shoulder to his right hip and still looked fresh, but Luffy knows how people heal is different. Chopper wiped away the blood and applied a thin layer of the vaseline to the bisection, taking gauze and bandaging him up. "Wow, that doesn't look as bad as I thought it would." Luffy mused, Zoro blushing once his shirt was covering the muscular torso and sculpted chest. "I thought it'd look like a train wreck!" Luffy laughed and Chopper gave him a glare. "Aniki is a fast healer!" Yosaku said proudly, moving to sit back down and finish eating. Johnny agreed with the other and finished eating his meal too. 

They chatted rather enthusiastically until it started getting late, people leaving until it was just Nami and the others left. Chopper yawned, stretching his arms and flopping into Zoro's lap. Luffy plucked his straw hat from Zoro's head and smiled. "I should visit you tomorrow! we can hang out and do whatever!" Luffy gushed, ignoring the glare his older brothers sent him from over yonder. "I don't know... Aniki just draws all day since he can't do much." Johnny huffed, picking up Zoro and adjusting him so he wouldn't fall off his back. Luffy put Zoro's cap on the green-haired male and patted his head a few times. "That's fine! I don't really care as long as you have snacks." Luffy giggled, rubbing the spot between his nose and upper lip with a finger.

Chopper smiled and waved goodbye to the others as they retreated back to their own property, bringing Zoro to bed and making sure he was comfortable before retiring for the night. "Damn Luffy, you literally met the guy only a few hours ago and you're already so friendly with him?" Ace huffed as he helped Franky clean up. "Of course! he's really pretty..." Luffy gave a giddy smile as he rocked on the balls of his feet. Sabo paused as Ace chocked on his spit, Franky nearly tripping over his feet as everyone else stopped to stare at him. Luffy pulled the hat over his head and stopped rocking, looking at everyone. "What?" He chirped, cocking his head to the side. "P-pretty?" Sanji choked, nearly inhaling his own cigarette. 

Luffy nods. "Un! Even if his face is covered in scars or his hair looks weird, I think he's pretty! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he suddenly felt bashful. "Luffy, bro! I thought you were a rock!" Franky cried, spinning around and coming up to Luffy. "Huh? What?" Luffy questioned, staring at Franky. "No? I just was never interested in anyone." Luffy shakes a hand and lets out another laugh. "HAH?!" Nami screeched, running to him and grabbing him by the lapels of his redshirt. "Are you serious?!" She asked, shaking him a bit. "You had Boa nearly drooling all over you but you weren't interested?!" "I thought that was obvious by how many times he rejected her." Sabo huffed taking off his top hat and running a hand through wavy hair.

Ace dropped the trash bag he held and went over to Luffy. "Whoda thought?! A person I never would have thought of but that's fine, heh." Ace snickered and wrapped an arm around his younger brother's shoulder. Luffy gave another giddy smile at the thought of hanging out with Zoro tomorrow, but then he realized he never got his number. "I'm so dumb!" He hit his head lightly before laughing. "I forgot to get his number! Oh well." Luffy chuckled and stretched his lanky arms over his head. "I'm gonna head home, Ji-chan won't be home tonight." Luffy waved at his brothers and everyone before taking off down the street. 

"What an Idiot." Sabo laughed, him and Ace shaking their heads.


	4. Chaos at its finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy goes to Zoro's home to try and get to know him better, too bad he can't sit still for more than 2 seconds before he's up and about. Zoro is exasperated when Luffy somehow managed to infiltrate his room full of "shitty" art. Zoro is yelling at Luffy, who's laughing right at him, and then Chopper's yelling at the both of them while Johnny and Yosaku die of laughter. Who knew Luffy was so kindhearted? Apparently everyone but Zoro did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sure this chapter is going to be utter chaos with a smidge of fluff and Luffy trying to encourage Zoro to sell his art along with free Smooches! Luffy's love language is definitely being physical with others, whether it's being friendly or just trying to bed someone. Also, get ready for the millions of questions Luffy asks (and his not so subtle flirting).

Luffy woke with a start, the sound of his two older brothers bustling about and the smell of freshly cooked food. "Oi, Luffy!" Ace called from downstairs in the kitchen, the sound of pans clanging against each other heard from the now open door. "Hurry up and get your food before Oyaji eats it all!" Luffy is down the stairs in moments, rushing into the kitchen clad only in sweat pants as he prepares to fill the black hole he calls his stomach. He was about to shove a handful of bacon into his mouth when he smacked upside the head by Sabo's brown leather-gloved hand, a snort drifting between them. "Chill out Luf, go put some actual clothes on before you start eating, and Garp isn't even here right now." Sabo turned to Ace and waved a finger at the snickering male who was washing the pans in the metal sink.

Luffy pouted and reached over to hit Ace on the arm before heading back to his room to change into a red open shirt with sleeves that reached to his elbows and a pair of torn jean shorts that came down to his knees, the fluff warm against his cool skin. Luffy ran back down the stairs once he pulled the straw hat on and around his neck, nearly slamming into the table and knocking all the food down onto the floor. "Holy shit Luffy!" Ace gasped, helping Sabo steady the table. "Shishishi! Sorry!" Luffy laughed, running a hand through his messy hair. "What's got you all excited?" Sabo asked as he stacked a few pancakes onto his plate, eyeing Luffy who was currently shoving bacon down his gullet. Luffy hit his chest a few times to clear his windpipe.

"Ahem, I'm gonna hang out with Zoro and Chopper today!" Luffy gave the two older brothers a blinding smile, taking a few pancakes and drenching them with syrup before grabbing the fork and shoving one into his mouth. "Slow down Luffy! You're gonna choke!" Sabo warned, catching Ace nodding his head a bit. A loud thunk came from Ace smacking his face right into his food, Luffy bursting into loud laughter as Sabo peeled his face away from his now crushed pancakes that thankfully did not have any syrup on them. Sabo pulled a handkerchief from his pocket in his blueish-lilac colored pants and wiped down Ace's face as Luffy wiped tears from his eyes. "I knew this was gonna happen," Sabo sighed, tossing the handkerchief to the side. "Because he didn't do this yesterday, it was so gonna happen sometime this morning." Luffy coughed into his hand to clear food lodged in his throat. 

Ace finally woke up after a few moments and rubbed his eyes. "Ah, shit, sorry." Ace grumbled, rubbing his face. Luffy let out a snort of laughter as Sabo fretted over Ace, him shoving the last few pancakes into his mouth and downing the cup orange juice and getting up to dump his dishes into the sink, and dashing into the living room to slip on his sandals and take off with a quick goodbye to his brothers. Sabo called after him and told him to stay out of trouble, which Luffy replied with a thumbs up and took off for the house down the street right next to Nami's home. As he walked by he noticed that the Uhaul truck that was in front of the home for the last two days was gone and he could see Chopper in the backyard chatting to what looked like a pool realtor.

Luffy waltz over to the front door and knocked a few times, fussing with the yellow sash he wrapped over his hip (even though he probably looked like a crackhead, no one really cared) as he waited for someone to open the door. The door swung open to show Zoro leaning against the trimming, an arm slung over his waist as he looked like he was going to fall asleep standing up. "Zoro!" Luffy cried, startling the taller out of his sleep-induced daze. "L-Luffy! What the hell are you doing here?" Zoro asked, stepping out of the way to let the younger in. Luffy looked around the furnished home with eyes full of amazement and looked to see Johnny and Yosaku on the couch watching whatever was on tv. "I told you I'd hang out with you yesterday! You're bad at listening." Luffy made a silly face as Zoro, who bristled slightly before heaving a sigh. 

"Your home is so cool! Show me around?" Luffy spun on the heel of his foot, slipping off his sandals and leaving them beside the door. Zoro gave a reluctant nod and showed him around, making sure he doesn't launch himself into something that will most definitely shatter on impact with that boundless energy of his. "How can you be so energized?" Zoro questioned, grabbing him by the shoulder so he wouldn't mow down the wooden doors that lead to the porch. "I don't know? Maybe it's cuz I had had a good time last night!" Luffy smiled, not noticing the sound of distaste that came from Zoro. "What're all of these plants? It smells funny in here." Luffy stared at the herbs hanging from the strings hanging from wall to wall, twine-wrapped herbs hanging from the lines.

"Chopper's herbs, he's drying them out," Zoro states, swatting the wandering hand that reached to grab some herb hanging above them. "Really? Is he a doctor?" Luffy questioned, Zoro obviously getting sick of him asking so many questions. "Yes, he's a doc- Luffy?" Zoro looked around when he noticed the man in question gone, dread sinking in his stomach. He walked out of the porch to see Luffy inspecting the door to his room full of art, Zoro nearly falling flat on his face when he started opening the door. "Luffy! Hold on a minute god damnit!" Zoro charged at him and pulled him away from the door that had paint splattered on the handle. "Aww! I wanted to see why there's paint on the door!" Luffy whined, Zoro dragging him to his personal room and huffing.

"Not for you to go in, jeez." Zoro huffed, his wound throbbing from the sudden exertion. "If Chopper finds out I just did that he'll kill me." Zoro groaned and sat up, shooting a glare at Luffy. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a bashful smile, apologizing with a laugh as he sat down on one of the windowsills. "It's not funny, you asshole!" Zoro squeaked, face flushing red with sudden embarrassment. "Shishishi! What's-his-name did mention that you did draw a lot, so what if I wanted to see your art?" Luffy asked, pulling off his straw hat to set it in his lap. "It's not very good- that doesn't matter! Why are you here again?" Zoro asked with a shake of his head as he pulled off the cap he had been wearing as they wandered around the house. "Huh? Dummy, I've already told you why shishishi!" Luffy chortled, smile widening.

Zoro gave an exasperated huff, crossing his arms over his injured chest. "I'm probably the least interesting person in the neighborhood." Zoro joked, Luffy rolling his eyes and standing up to take a closer look at the room. "You hiding any artsy stuff in here?" Luffy asked, peaking into a drawer full of socks. Zoro got up and picked him up by the scruff of the neck, closing the drawer with a knee. "You're as nosy as that chick Nami," Zoro said, setting down Luffy. "Am not! I don't try to scam info out of people." Luffy huffed, crossing his arms over his scarred chest. Zoro let out a loud guffaw that had him clutching his stomach in pain. "What? It's true! She tried to get me to tell her my dad's credit card number! Too bad, I can't remember stuff like that." Luffy snorts, him smiling at Zoro's laugh.

"You're kidding, right? She must be absolutely insane!" Zoro chuckled, Luffy nodding like a mad man as he continued to explain how Nami first found out who his dad is and all this other crazy stuff. "She stopped after she met Vivi! It was crazy because everyone thought she was straight until she came running to us practically singing! " _Oh, Luffy, I'm just so in love with her!_ " Shishishi!" Luffy gripped his stomach as he laughed, doubling over as Zoro let out another chuckle. "Vivi's father and his friend looked like they were gonna die when Nami went to them telling how madly in love with Vivi she was, it was nuts." Luffy sighed, losing the last vestiges of laughter as he wiped a tear away. "That sounds just as crazy as it must've played out." Zoro shook his head and smiled, a few more chuckles leaving his lips. Luffy nods.

"Heck yeah! And listen to this!" Luffy continued to drone on about the rejection Robin gave to Sanji and then she got with Franky the next day, him being so torn up about it until he met Viola and ended up dating her (they're still dating by the way) until they were interrupted by Johnny and Yosaku. "Aniki! We have lunch for you and Luffy-bro!" Yosaku announced as he pushed open the door with plates full of unagi. Luffy bounced and took the plate from Yosaku, nearly inhaling it the second he sat down on the sill. Zoro took the other plate and shooed them away, sitting down on the bed to make sure Luffy wouldn't steal his food like yesterday. "Oh man, this is so good!" Luffy said between mouthfuls. Zoro watched with amazement as Luffy scarfed down the plateful with no problem and sighed, patting his stomach. 

"How can you eat like that and not gain weight?!" Zoro quizzed, his only brow raised. Luffy chuckled and stretched a bit, twisting his body in ways only a flexible person could. "I have a crazy fast metabolism or whatever, I'm super active and I burn calories crazy fast, or at least that's what my doctor told me." Luffy shrugged and rolled his shoulder a bit. Zoro nods and finished up his food, looking down for just a moment before looking up and seeing Luffy had disappeared again. _Damn him! Acting like he owns the damn house!_ Zoro cursed, dragging himself off the bed and out the room to see the door to his art room wide open. "LUFFY!!" Zoro shouts, startling everyone in and outside the house.

Luffy dropped the canvas he was holding and scrambled to put it back where he found it before Zoro entered the room shaking with anger. "Sorry! Sorry!" Luffy cried, ducking the hand that swiped at him. "I was curious!" Zoro made an unintelligible noise and tried to push him out of the room, barely listening to the praises that left Luffy's lips. "They're super good drawings! I don't know why you said they're bad! I can't even draw!" Luffy prattled, making Zoro freeze. "Hah?! I didn't even say you could come in here!" Zoro snapped, getting ready to pick Luffy up and chuck him down the stairs. Chopper was in the house and up the stairs in seconds, nearly smacking into the door frame as Johnny and Yosaku followed, barely containing laughter when Zoro's face went as red as a tomato.

"What's all this yelling about?!" Chopper cried, looking angry. Luffy was about to explain when he was hit upside the head by Zoro and tried to shoo Chopper and the other two away but to no avail. "Oh Chopper!" Luffy picked up the younger with a big smile, much to the dismay of the older one trying to him out of the room. "You're a doctor right? That's so cool!" Luffy smiled when Chopper let out a squeal and a few bubbly giggles. "That doesn't make me happy, you fucker~!" Chopper bubbled, burying his face into his hands as he wiggled around. Zoro spluttered and jabbed Luffy in the side, shouting at Yosaku to fuck off. Luffy set Chopper down and watched him dance around before scurrying away while saying something about the pool realtor waiting for him and that they need to quit yelling.

"Can you get out now?" Zoro pushed, shoving him gently as Johnny and Yosaku cackled in the doorway. "Really? I want to look at your art more!" Luffy complained, Zoro's face getting even redder as Yosaku wheezed about not being able to breathe. Zoro buried his face into his hands and tried to hide his embarrassment, going over to kick the two laughing on the floor and slam the door closed, leaving them in the messy room. Luffy looked at the large canvases that hung on the wall, ranging from barely started to finished. He had all shapes and sizes on the wall and floor, dozens of sketch pads stacked on the floor in the right corner of the room, and a corkboard covered with drawing ideas. "You drew all of this?" Luffy spun around a few times, feeling dizzy and stumbling a bit.

"Yeah..." Zoro rubbed the nape of his neck nervously, not doing very well to hide his shyness. "They're amazing, Zoro!" Luffy picked up a canvas oil painting of a girl in a flower field, a flower crown in her short black hair, and a white flowy sundress. "Huh? No not even, they're not really good." Zoro brushed off the compliment and took the canvas away from Luffy, setting it back on the wall. "No seriously! You draw even better than Usopp, and he's the artist of the group!" Luffy disputes, huffing with a pout. "Quit pouting! How old are you?!" Zoro snapped, overcoming the embarrassment. "I'm only nineteen, gee!" Luffy punched him on the arm softly, reaching for his straw hat only to see he didn't bring it with him when he left Zoro's room.

"Ah shoot, I forgot my hat!" Luffy blinked and then laughed a bit, making Zoro roll his eyes at his stupidity. He dragged the younger out of the room and into his bedroom, making sure to lock the door so Luffy can't get in there (unless he's crazy enough to climb up the house which Zoro wouldn't put past him after seeing only some of his chaotic tendencies). "You should sell your art! You'd make a lot of money." Luffy said as they entered the bedroom, going over to where he left the straw hat to put it back on his head. Zoro snorts with a shake of his head, pausing for a moment when he felt his head ache. "I tried, but nobody in the city liked them." "WHAT?!" Luffy cried, spinning around and taking him by the arms. 

"No way! Usopp is an artist and he makes good money! You're a million times better than Usopp!" Luffy swore, brows furrowed. "You can sell them here in the neighborhood, everyone would buy them for sure!" Luffy nods and Zoro let out an audible gulp, wrenching himself from the younger surprisingly strong grip. "I don't know, Chopper's going to be going the Red Line Hospital soon to get a job as a Medical Technologist or something..." Zoro trailed off, dwelling on the offer Luffy had just proposed. "But I'm not worried about my art at the moment when Chopper has a few jobs line up for him." Zoro shook his head and settled with a stern look. "I tried." Luffy shrugged. Zoro was baffled at the suddenness but it didn't stick around long when Luffy's stomach let out a loud rumble.

"Shishishi, I guess I didn't enough eat breakfast this morning." Luffy chuckled, not in the least embarrassed. Zoro snorts and leads Luffy downstairs to the kitchen where he immediately tried to raid their cabinets full of food. "Oi! Quit that!" Zoro snapped, wrenching him from the cabinet and closing it with a bump of his hip. "I'm not supposed to be moving around this much but I think I can make you something." Zoro addressed, making a noise when the world tilted a bit. Luffy took notice and steadied him, helping him sit down on one of the chairs and make a rather concerned face. "Uh... I don't think you should try cooking in a state like that." Luffy waved a hand, Zoro immediately knowing he was talking about his depth perception.

Luffy called out to one of Zoro's friends and asked to make them something while he chatted with the older male at the table. "Ugh, I hate this so much." Zoro groaned, holding his head in pain. Luffy gets him a cup of water from one of the cups drying in the sink and hands it to him, Luffy fussing with the yellow sash. "Um, I can go get Chopper for you..." He offers albeit a little timidly, not knowing what to do with his hands. "Nah, the headaches are normal," Zoro said after a period of rather awkward silence. Luffy nods and bounces his leg, trying to sit still and not wander as he waited for more food. Johnny, the one who whipped something up for them, murmured a few things to Zoro before disappearing into the sunroom past the kitchen. 

They ate with an awkwardness enveloping them, Luffy casting short but noticeable glances at the injured man as they ate a simple dish of tamagoyaki. Zoro furrowed his brow and paused his eating. "What? Is there something on my face?" Luffy snorted loudly at Zoro's question. "Bandages." Luffy smiled when Zoro groaned and mumbled something about his horrid jokes. "You asked, I answered!" Luffy snickered. "Finish eating loser." Zoro jeered light-heartedly as he shoved some of his tamagoyaki into his mouth, swatting away the wandering chopsticks that tried to steal the ones on his plate. Zoro noticed that Luffy had already finished his plate and was still trying to steal his when he gave up and shoved one in Luffy's mouth, grunting when his chopsticks clanked against his teeth.

Luffy winced and ran his tongue over the few aching teeth as he swallowed the tamagoyaki. "Owie, that hurt!" He whined, bumping a hand against the other's knee when he reached up to rub his jaw. The green-haired man mumbled a sorry and finished his plate before Luffy could complain. He got up and cleaned the plates, Luffy standing rather idly next to him as he cleaned. Suddenly, Luffy leaned in, pressing his lips to the uncovered cheek as he stood on the tip of his toes, using his straw hat to block whoever might see it. Zoro dropped the dish into the sink and spluttered loudly, face and neck flushing red as he turned away. Luffy coughed lightly and blushed a bit, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"Hehe, sorry... I, uh, don't know why I did that." Luffy states, looking quite bashful. Of course, he knew why he did that, Zoro is pretty and he wanted to kiss him, so he did... just not where he actually wanted to kiss him. Zoro made an embarrassing noise and dried his hands, trying not to be awkward. "Do-uh... do you do that with the others?" He asked nervously, face still red. "Yeah..." Luffy answered, whistling slightly. It's true, he did give his friends kisses on the cheeks from time to time, seeing how it was completely platonic love between all of them, but he liked Zoro more than that and obviously nearly shot his chance down the drain. Luffy poked his fingers together, feeling nervous and giddy at the same time. "Just... give me a warning next time." Zoro grits, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from fleeing to never see the light of day again.

Luffy perked up and nearly jumped the man, giving him a hug and jabbing on about incoherent things into his side. Zoro pushed the straw hat over Luffy's face to hide his ridiculously handsome yet cute face (Zoro thought he was dying when he thought of Luffy like that, I mean, really, they just met the other night). Luffy bounced about, no longer nervous as Zoro chilled out on the couch now that Yosaku had accompanied Johnny to the backyard. He was drifting off to sleep when he was suddenly heaved up onto Luffy's back. "What the hell are you doing?!" Zoro yelped, latching onto thin yet muscular shoulders as he felt hands slip underneath his thighs. "Chopper's calling for you and I wasn't gonna wait for you to get up," Luffy explained, letting Zoro snatch his straw hat and shove it on his own head.

"You fucker," Zoro swore, pinching his cheek and pulling on as he was carried to the backyard. "You could've woken me up so you could pick me up." Luffy laughed and stepped onto the path where Chopper was in the mini garden while Johnny and Yosaku did who knows what near the shed (they're fixing it, you dirty people) and Luffy wandered over to the garden, still carrying Zoro. "Ah, Zoro are you feeling better?" Chopper asked wiping down his dirt-covered hands, Luffy setting said man down. "Yeah, thanks to that cream I feel as right as rain." Zoro smiled when Chopper swore at him, dancing a bit when Luffy leaned over some of the plants. "What are these?" He asked, pulling Chopper out of his happy dance.

"Don't touch them! I just planted them!" Chopper screeched as Luffy bent down to look closer at the plant. Zoro chuckled when Luffy started whining at Chopper, complaining much to the dismay of the younger. Zoro made himself comfortable on the damp ground and watched the two of them bicker until Luffy nearly jumped a foot in the air, water splashing suddenly. Chopper squealed and Zoro nearly crawled to get away from the sudden spray of the hose next to Chopper. "Oops!" He heard Yosaku yelp, the squeak of the faucet sticking outside the wall of the house where he had moved, and Johnny's laugher as Luffy slipped off his top to wring it out. "Sorry Aniki!" Johnny said between laughs, ignoring Chopper's shouts of obscenities at him. 

Luffy made a face of distaste and set the shirt off to dry, sitting down next to Zoro on a dry patch of land while Chopper nearly slid through the garden. Luffy pulled his phone from his pocket and checked to make sure it wasn't wat before flopping onto his back with a loud sigh. Zoro looked down to see Luffy tapping away on his phone, his brows crease. "Stupid Ji-chan, he thinks I'm shirking duties again." Luffy huffed before tossing his phone onto his lap and sitting up. "Hah? Duties?" Zoro parrots, thoroughly confused. "Yup! I work out with him and 'Tosan when they come home from work." Luffy smirked when Zoro rolled his eye. "No way, someone as scrawny as you? Hah!" Zoro snorts, Luffy pouting.

"Really, I'm super flexible and if you weren't injured I'd so wipe the floor with your ass." Luffy challenged, taking in the way Zoro's eye glinted with interest. "Hou, as soon as Chopper lets me go I'm so gonna make you eat those words." Zoro shot back, leaning in to intimidate the smaller. "As if, just because you look strong doesn't mean you are." Luffy pressed, smirk widening. Zoro pulled away and rolled his eye again. He was about to say something when he was interrupted by Luffy's phone buzzing. He picked up his phone and stuck his tongue out at the screen before tapping away at the screen. Luffy leaned against Zoro as he texted, Zoro unconsciously leaning against the other. Chopper bustled about in front of them in comfortable silence, barely glancing at the scene while Johnny and Yosaku made a few catcalls that resulted in a rock being launched at them.

"They're funny," Luffy smiled, pulling on his shirt once it was fully dry. "Stupid, but funny." Zoro finished, laughing when Johnny cried out. Luffy smiled warmly at the laugh, he wanted to make Zoro laugh like that. _I got it bad,_ Luffy realized, even though they met the other night it was like they've known each other for years. Luffy wanted to hug him and kiss him, as sappy as that may sound, make him happy and the sorts. Zoro was stuck in that shell and Luffy wanted to coax him out of it, but he didn't know where to start. "We should exchange numbers." Luffy blurts, holding out his phone. Zoro blushed softly and took the phone. "Really?" He asked, nervous. "Yeah so the next time it's not so unannounced," Luffy clarified. Zoro nodded dumbly and punched in his number, shooting a text and making sure it sent through before giving the phone back.

Luffy cocked his head and gave a crooked smile, Zoro returning the smile and then went back to watching Chopper plant seedlings. Luffy leaned further against Zoro until he noticed the other was dozing slightly, his head nodding a bit as his eye drooped. "Tired?" Luffy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's so taxing when healing." Zoro yawned, relaxing against Luffy. Luffy let him fall asleep as he watched everyone bustle about, smiling and internally trying not to burst into flames as he thought Zoro looked so cute while sleeping. He must've dozed off too when he was awoken by Chopper nudging the both of them. "Oi, get up so I can check Zoro," Chopper ordered, pulling up Zoro's shirt once Luffy moved out of the way.

His skin tingled from where Zoro rested, or it could've been from sitting in the sun and then falling asleep. It most certainly was the first choice but he didn't dwell on it too long when his phone started ringing. He answered and immediately pulled his phone away from his ear before he could even say hello. " _WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU SHITHEAD?!!_ " It was his grandfather, Garp, shouting so damn loud into the phone that the others could hear him. And he wasn't even on speaker. "I told you I was at a friend's house!" Luffy shouts back into the receiver, growing agitated. " _YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HOME TWO HOURS AGO!_ " Garp growled, his teeth gnashing so hard Luffy could hear it. "What?? No way!" Luffy pulled his phone away from his ear to look at the time.

" _HURRY UP AND GET YER ASS OVER HERE OR IT'S TWENTY LAPS AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD!_ " Was all Garp snapped into the phone before hanging up. "Sorry, Zoro..." Luffy sighed, pocketing his phone. "I gotta go before Ji-chan kills me. Maybe I'll be free tomorrow if he goes back to work tonight." Luffy went over to help Zoro up and head back inside into the house to grab his sandals. Zoro snickered and handed Luffy's hat back to him. "It's fine, really." Zoro smiled, patting Luffy on the head. "Great!" Luffy bubbled, bouncing on his feet a bit. "I'll send you a text then!" Luffy pressed a kiss to Zoro's cheek in the spur of the moment before opening the door and taking off with a wave, leaving Zoro stunned at the front door.

His face flushed after a moment of processing and he closed the door, leaning against it and sliding down. "He's so embarrassing..." Zoro groaned into hands, his face burning so bright he could burn the bandages right off his face.

Luffy was bouncing down the street, running as fast as his legs would take him to his home so Garp wouldn't hit him with his so-called "fist of love". He bounds through the doorway and up to his room before his dad, Dragon, could see his smiling face as he gets dressed and thought about jumping out the window to get into the backyard faster. He ducked past Ace's room and down the stairs before he could hear his brother complain about getting hit for him being late. Dragon moved to the backyard with Garp and waited for Luffy, face rather bored while Garp tried not to tear his already grey hair out. Luffy was panting lightly once he was in the backyard, wearing a tank top with the Galley-La Company logo sprawled over his chest. 

"Why are you so happy, you twat?!" Garp snapped, Luffy narrowly dodging the punch directed at his head with a yelp. Ace, who just came out with a very disgruntled looking Sabo. "He hung out with someone he likes!" Ace chirped, Luffy twisting and bending backward when Garp launched a few more punches. "Hou? Not a good enough excuse to be late!" Garp roared, swiping his leg out to trip Luffy. Dragon shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering darkly about something before turning to Sabo and Ace to distract them of watch Garp try to beat his son to a pulp. "I'm sorry! I fell asleep!" Luffy confessed, jumping into the air before kicking his leg out to push his grandfather back.

"ASLEEP?!!" Sabo and Ace screeched, watching Luffy let out a yelp and run around as Garp chased him with metaphorical fires burning in his eyes. "Sorry! We were hanging out in the backyard when he took his nap! I didn't mean to doze off too!!" Luffy cried, rolling out of the way when Garp jumped up and tried to land a well-aimed kick on his head. "What?! Is he narcoleptic Ace??" Garp questioned, gaining on Luffy. "No!" He shrieked and punched his grandfather a few times, each punch being blocked with his arms. "He got injured in some freak accident..." Luffy ducked and spun on his hands to kick his grandfather in the side, a loud grunt leaving his tense lips. He rolled out of the way and cried out when he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck, kicking wildly before giving up as he was hit on the head with Garp's free hand.

"Whatever! Don't be late again!" Garp tossed him on the ground and stomped inside. Luffy sat up while rubbing his aching head. "What's his problem?" Luffy asked, watching Ace and Sabo tag-team on Dragon. "Akainu talked shit about Otosan again at work 'n' stuff. I swear one of these days he's gonna kill that stupid guy." Ace divulged, talking about his Biological father, Roger. "What about Oyaji?" Luffy asked, talking about a man nicknamed Whitebeard. "He's fine, Marco kept him busy with Thatch at work." Ace grunted as Sabo narrowly missed his face with a kick, apologizing right after. Luffy nods and imagined his older brother's boyfriend head as pineapple before laughing out loud. Sabo huffed and collapsed after the few hours of training, Ace doing the same right next to him as their younger brother watched.

"Dinner is whatever you can find." Dragon states and heads inside to make himself some coffee, Sabo dragging himself off the ground to do the same. Ace rolled around a bit before heading inside with Luffy, stealing whatever they could and heading to their separate rooms. Luffy munched on some mochi he stole from the freezer as he pulled out his phone to talk to Zoro, licking his fingers to clean them off as he responds to each text eagerly. Zoro mentioned about Chopper being excited to see him again tomorrow that was followed by a picture of Chopper sitting in his lap with Dango hanging from their mouths, Luffy laughed to himself and commented on the messes on their faces before setting it as Zoro's contact photo. 

They chatted for the rest of the evening and well into the night until he got a text from Zoro saying Chopper was yelling at him to head to bed (like a mother) and that he'll talk to him tomorrow. Luffy left the text on read and stared up at the ceiling. Was it too early to say he was in love with Zoro? But he never felt like this before, and he wanted to be more than friends with Zoro but they're like strangers to each other. They only know each other's names and a tiny bit about themselves.

 _Damn. I'm hopeless._ Luffy laughed and covered his face, blushing in the darkness of his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I used Otosan incorrectly but it only makes sense in the sentence rather than Chichi or Chichiue.


	5. Shopping spree Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy, who was preparing to hang out with Zoro again ends up being dragged off with Nami and the other girls of his friend group to go shopping. Luffy, of course, said he had different plans for the day but the others didn't care, dragging him along to the mall and dressing him up in all sorts of outfits. After nearly the whole day has gone, he's dressed up all odd and doesn't even bother to go change and heads straight to Zoro's. They're a little awkward from the day before but everything goes well (somewhat when Luffy ends up kissing the guy). Luffy tells Zoro he likes them and the best thing that could ever happen happened!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired to write this chapter of a picture I saw on insta of Luffy dressed up in victorian styled clothing (rather the fluffy cravat top with was a drawstring) and I just had to write about it, so here is the link! https://www.instagram.com/p/CElKWSph6-u/ (if the link doesn't work just type it in and it should send you to the photo). This is also me being partially sappy because why not.

Garp had left early this morning, right when Luffy barely woke up. He was shoving toast into his mouth while grumbling about a man named Sengoku and how shit everyone is before slamming the door shut and heading to work. Luffy came downstairs to see his father sipping coffee while leaning against the counter, reading today's newspaper. "What's up with Ji-chan?" Luffy asked, grabbing himself a plate and piling on anything that would fit on his plate. "His boss just called him in because the slow guy didn't show up for his scouting," Sabo answered, holding Ace's head away from the plate of food as he goes through another one of his narcoleptic episodes. Luffy nods and shoveled some buttered toast into his mouth.

Dragon took a long sip of his coffee before setting it down in the sink, casting away the newspaper, and fixing the fluffy cravat he had tied around his neck. "I'll be leaving soon, make sure you're ready Sabo, we have a meeting with Ivankov today." Dragon states as he leaves the room, probably to fix his crazy black blob he called hair. Sabo groaned and let go of Ace once he was awake. "What're you gonna be doing today Luf?" Ace asked, rubbing his eyes for a moment. "Go hang out with Zoro again." Luffy chirps, downing half of the cup of orange juice he was given before shoving more food into his mouth. "Really? You've got it bad for him," Sabo sighed, finishing his plate of toast and scrambled eggs. "Leave me alone, it's better than sticking with Nami and have her torture me." Luffy huffed.

Speak of the Devil herself, his phone began ringing with her name and picture lighting up the screen. "Speak of the Devil and they shall appear." Ace snorts, hacking up the food he inhaled. Sabo rolled his eyes at the antics of the other and let Luffy answer his phone. " _Luffy! We're going shopping and you have to come with us!_ " Nami said into the phone the moment he answered, the sound of other voices chatting in the background. "Huh?" Luffy blinked, trying to choke down the eggs he inhaled. "No way! Take Sanji with you or something, I already have plans!" Luffy objected, pushing his plate of food away and turning in his seat. " _But Luffy! They have new clothes out for boys and we want to take you! Besides, Sanji is with Viola again._ " Nami states, ignoring Luffy's groan of annoyance. "But I made plans to hang out with Zoro again! Find someone else!" He pouted even though Nami couldn't see him.

" _Just go after we're done shopping!_ " Nami clipped. "Nu-uh! I told him I'd be there after breakfast!" Luffy argued, his two brothers ignoring him to finish eating their own breakfast. " _Well, you better tell him that something came up because you're going with us._ " Nami was obviously not leading on how irritated she is by Luffy's argument. "Nope, I am not! There's no way I'm doing that to Zoro." Luffy groaned, getting up and heading to his room to get changed. Luffy let out a low growl and begrudgingly shoves on a shirt, complaining into the phone before finally hanging up. He shot Zoro a text explaining that Nami is forcing him to go get new clothes. Zoro sent back a few laughing faces before saying that he'd be fine waiting for him.

Luffy smiled at his phone and dropped his straw hat on his head, a loud honk coming from outside, and Ace calling for him to hurry up. Luffy shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans and made his way down the stairs, pulling on a pair of shoes and waving Ace goodbye, who was currently on the couch. He dashed to the car waiting in front of the driveway and hopped into the back seat. Driving the car is Nami, in the passenger seat is her girlfriend, in the back with Luffy is Robin, Rebecca, and Shirahoshi. Once he was situated, Nami started driving to the mall. The girls chatted away while Luffy kept himself occupied with his phone, texting Zoro or scrolling through Instagram to see whatever everyone is posting about.

Robin, who was sitting right next to him, peered over his shoulder while leaning a bit. "Who're you texting, Luffy?" Robin asked, a sweet smile gracing her lips. Luffy paused over the send button and looked at Robin, who now caught the attention of the others as Nami continued to drive to the mall outside the neighborhood. "Zoro," Luffy shrugged, sending the text and watching the speech bubble appear. "Oh? What're you two talking about?" She pressed, bringing a hand up to cradle her chin. "Haramaki's." Luffy lied, stifling a laugh when Zoro sent him something funny. "Liar!" Rebecca laughed, reaching over Shirahoshi and Robin to try and snatch his phone. "Hah?! Don't do that!" Luffy yelped, shoving his phone between his thighs so the girl couldn't grab his phone.

Rebecca let out a huff as she leaned back in her seat, pouting. "You're no fun!" Vivi giggled in the front seat, reaching behind to pat her knee. "Leave Luffy alone, Rebecca-san, he just discovered his first crush!" Nami snorts at the jest and pulled into the parking lot of the mall, parking the closest to the entrance she can. Luffy got out of the car the moment Nami unlocked the doors, sending one last message to Zoro before pocketing his phone and waiting for the other girls to get out of the car. "Alrighty! We need to get you some new clothes!" Nami chirped, clapping her hands together as they made their way to the entrance of the mall. Luffy nearly guffawed, stating he did not need new clothes (not accounting for the old thread-bare vests and torn clothing). 

Robin chuckled and shook her head. "We need to get you some nicer clothes, those button-ups are far too small for you now after coming back from Goa." Robin set a hand on the shorter shoulder as Vivi and her girlfriend agreed, wandering past the many clothing and perfume stores. Luffy stuck his tongue out at the girls and crossed his arms. "I don't like them anyway, they're super stiff 'n' stuff," Luffy complained, letting the girls lead him into a store full of odd clothes. "Wow!" Shirahoshi squealed, picking up a pink shimmery top. Rebecca stopped to look at clothes with Shirahoshi while the other two lead him to the men's section of the store. "Everything looks like it's straight out of those old-timey movies," Luffy grumbled, thinking back to those victorian styled shirts Sabo and his father wear. Robin giggled and looked through pants while Nami and Vivi looked through the racks of shirts.

"But hey," Nami starts, pulling out a cravated top only for Luffy to violently shake his head no. "Whatever we find in here will go good with that stupid hat of yours," Luffy grumbled and insulted her about his hat before Robin was suddenly holding up a pair of high-waisted black pants that looked way to tight to even fit over his thighs. "Well not this size of course," She mused, chuckling. "But there should be a pair of shoes to go with this and a top." Robin pulled out a size that would fit Luffy. Nami pulled out a shirt with drawstrings crossing over the chest a bit to probably hold it closed while the collar was folded neatly but had rather puffy arms. "No way I'm wearing that!" Luffy shook his head and crossed his arms in the shape of an 'x' in front of him. 

Vivi held it up next to the pair of pants and nodded, Nami hooking an arm around his neck. "O-Oi!" He yelped, getting ready to twist out of her grip when he was pushed to sit down. "What's your shoe size?" Nami asked, pulling at his shoe before he could answer. Nami pointed at the shelf full of dress shoes and had her girlfriend pick out a glossy pair to go with the outfit they picked for him. "Perfect! Help him get dressed, Robin." Nami pulled him up and pushed him into the dressing room, said woman taking the small pile of clothes and heading in after the younger. After a few moments of a rather loud fussing and Vivi taking her phone out to snap pictures, Luffy came out with a very disgruntled look on his face while Robin combed his hair to make it look neater.

Nami's eyes sparkled while Vivi snapped pictures. "Wow!" Vivi voiced, taking a closer look at the outfit. _Tacky_ , Luffy thought sourly as the girls fanned over him. He felt like one of those actors in plays when they do an old show, Nami heading over to the receptionist so Luffy could continue wearing those clothes as she paid out of her pocket. Shirahoshi and Rebecca came over with a bag full of clothing and wowed at him too, Robin forcing Luffy to hold his straw hat so he wouldn't ruin his har she painstakingly fixed. His scar peaked through where the drawstrings where crossed and tied, Rebecca taking pictures to post on Instagram (much to the dismay of Luffy, who made it very clear). Robin carried his normal clothes in a bag and they left, Luffy pouting the whole way through the mall until they came across a store that caught his eyes. Most people stared at Luffy, some whispering about how good he looked while the girls just followed after him.

"What're you going in here for?" Nami asked, shifting the millions of bags she was holding. "What? Can't I look?" The shop was full of clothes and such, games and posters. Shirahoshi giggled and looked at some name brand chinaware as Luffy strolled around the shop, coming across matching keychains. Luffy picked them up, both had glossy covered Koi with a bag hanging right next to is full of smaller koi, and a lily pad. The one he was holding in his left hand was a red, white, and black koi while the other was a black and white one. He took the keychains and brought them to the receptionist, who looked like they'd rather be somewhere else. He paid for them and hooked the red, white, and black one on his phone, pocketing the other one and strolling outside to wait for the girls.

He sent a photo of the keychain to Zoro who said it looked cool, hoping he got one for him too. Luffy smiled and pockets the phone after answering and waits for the girls, tapping his foot impatiently. "Finally, we thought we lost you in the store!" Said an exasperated Vivi, startling him out of his impatient wait. "Can we leave now?" Luffy whined, following the group of girls who started walking again. "Nope! I have other stores I want to look at for you." Nami clipped, hooking her free arm around Vivi's waist and shoot glares at the men who checked her out. "More? But I'm boreeeeddddd..." Luffy whined, heaving an exasperated sigh and slouching a bit. Nami rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Oh please, you're just saying that so you can ditch us and hang out with my neighbor." Luffy straightened and let out an awkward whistle, hooking his hat around his neck. 

Robin stifled a giggle and whispered something to Rebecca that had her gasping and nearly jumping Luffy. "You like Zoro? Oh my goodness!" Rebecca nearly screamed, bouncing while Shirahoshi made a noise out of embarrassment. Rebecca started ranting to him as they went through millions of stores, Luffy thoroughly embarrassed to say the least by the time they make it back to the car. "Luffy, you think you can drive us home?" Nami asked, tossing the keys to him. "Why? So you can suck Vivi's face off in the back?" Luffy joked, dodging the smack to his head and diving into the driver's seat. Luffy made a motion of gagging on his finger before starting up the car and driving out of the parking lot once they're situated.

"I'm stopping at his house so one of you is gonna have to take over driving," Luffy stated, ignoring the look of disdain Robin gave him when he messed up his own hair by putting his hat on. Shirahoshi nodded and went back to looking out the window as he drove, all of them (minus Luffy) chatting about clothes and talking about the other stuff they bought Luffy that he can wear to dates if he manages to score with Zoro. "Hey!" Luffy yelped when he heard Nami, glaring into the rearview mirror to see her smirking. Nami cackled as he drove into the neighborhood, passing most of the houses he already knew before coming up to Zoro's home and getting out, Robin getting out too so she can drive in his place. He grabbed his three bags of clothing (he refused to let them buy any more or he'd never hear the end of it from Garp).

He stuck his tongue out at the girls and watched them drive down the street until they were out of sight. He turned around and picked up the bags and headed over to the front door, knocking on it to the best of his abilities. The door opened and he looked down to see Chopper in a pink top hat rather than his usual helmet-like beanie. "Luffy!" Chopper jumped with a smile, letting Luffy in and watched him toe off his glossy dress shoes. "Why're you dressed like that?" Chopper asked, Luffy setting down the bags next to his shoes. "Nami forced me to wear this, I'm pretty sure she took off with my actual clothes." Luffy huffed, rummaging through the bags but to no avail. Chopper giggled and led Luffy upstairs to Zoro's art room, the door slightly ajar.

Inside was Zoro sitting against the wall with a sketch pad in his lap, paints sitting next to him as he wore a paint-covered top. "Oi Zoro!" Luffy called joyously, coming into the room as Chopper disappeared into the porch. Zoro looked up and nearly dissolved into laughter. "W-what the hell are you wearing?" Zoro sputtered, stifling a laugh as Luffy made a face at him. "Nami made me wear this and ran off with my clothes!" Luffy couldn't help the smile that crossed his lips as Zoro chuckled, setting down the sketch pad. He went over to the other and helped him up, the paint covered shirt sliding a bit to expose a bandaged shoulder. "How're the wounds?" Luffy asked, steading Zoro when he stumbled a bit.

"Fine, Chopper says it healing well and the bandages on my face will be off in a few days." Zoro smiled, motioning to the laceration across his torso. "Good!" Luffy jumped, sounding more excited than he actually was. Luffy ranted to Zoro about his day shopping and how much he hated shopping with Nami and Robin. "Oh yeah!" Luffy stopped, shoving his hand into one of the pockets and fished out the keychain he bought earlier. "I got this for you! it's matching with mine." Luffy gave the keychain to the older and showed his phone. "Really? T-thank you." Zoro coughed slightly, cheeks flushing pink. Luffy giggled and made to sit down on the floor when Zoro stopped him. "I wouldn't sit on the floor in here, it's super dirty." Zoro made an awkward motion and they retreated to his room.

"So have you been drawing all day?" Luffy asked, making himself comfortable on Zoro's bed. Zoro flopped down next to him and nodded, a loud sigh leaving his lips. "Yup, Johnny and Yosaku left to go back to the City this morning and Chopper's been grinding his herbs, so I've been stuck just drawing." He explained to the other, fussing with the keychain hook until it finally clipped to the phone case. "Sounds boring." Luffy shrugged, leaning closer to the other. "Meh, better than being unproductive all day." Zoro beamed, Luffy's stomach fluttering suddenly. "O-oh really? I can't say too much since I'm always doing something." Luffy quickly corrected himself before his tongue twisted the words up. The green-haired man nods and tilts his head a bit like he was thinking.

"Nami can be a pain in the ass," Zoro sighed, shaking his head. "She tried to convince me to go too but Chopper yelled at her about me being injured, haha," Zoro chuckled, rolling his shoulder a bit. Luffy shared the laugh as he took off his straw hat and set it down beside him, playing with the string connected to it. "No wonder she sounded a blah when she called me." Luffy snickered, his hand ghosting across Zoro's. Zoro felt a shiver shoot up his spine and suppressed the urge to do so. Luffy was leaning in close, eyes half-lidded, and focused intently on his face. Zoro suddenly felt nervous and closed his eyes, Luffy taking it as his chance to kiss the taller male. Zoro froze, Luffy's hand brushing against the bandaged side of his face and gently cradling his chin.

Zoro's lid fluttered a bit as Luffy slowly pulled away, his thumb caressing his jaw slightly. He opened his eye slowly and took in the blushing face of Luffy, his brown eyes waiting for a reaction. Zoro's face went bright red and he brought up a hand to cover his mouth, eye wide. Luffy took a moment to realize what he had just done and pulled away, putting space between them as he scrambled to form words. "I- uh, ah shit, I-I'm sorry!" Luffy spluttered, face as red as Zoro's. "Wh-why'd you do that?" He asked, his words muffled by his hand. "Umm..." Luffy trailed off, thinking he just lost his own chance to be with Zoro. "I like you... a lot." Luffy spilled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He waited for Zoro to make a disgusted noise and tell him that he was gross and didn't like him like that. Instead...

Zoro let out a sweet chuckle, his ears burning a bright red. "Haha, I-I like you too... even though we met two days ago..." Luffy nearly died on the spot, is he hearing things? "Huh?" Luffy blinked like an owl at Zoro, processing the words. 

"Really?"

He nods.

Luffy _EXPLODES_.

"OH MY GOD!!!!" Luffy shrieks, jumping up to his feet to keep himself from tackling Zoro. "NO WAY!!" Luffy spun around on his feet a few times before basically tackling Zoro into the bed to smother him with kisses. Zoro made a noise and smiled when the younger cried out incoherent things between kisses. "Wooo!" Luffy laughed, hugging the older close and pressing kisses all over his face. Zoro laughed and let the younger nuzzle into his neck, asking a question. "So?" Luffy sat up, looking down at him with confusion. "Huh?" "What are we now?" Luffy gave him probably the goofiest smile ever and pressed more kisses to his face. "We're boyfriends now! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed into the kiss he pressed on the corner of the others lip, Zoro smiling because he couldn't help it.

"When you're all better I'm gonna take you everywhere!" Luffy's eyes sparkled as he rolled off Zoro to lay beside him. "Hou? What about Chopper?" Zoro snickered, his stomach and chest feeling all warm at the admiration Luffy was expressing. "Him too! I would introduce you to Ji-chan but he'd probably flip his shit, shishishi!" Luffy giggled, his feet kicking slightly. "What about the others?" Zoro questioned, Luffy suddenly sitting up. "Later! Right now I-" Luffy struggled to find words on how happy he was. Zoro made a face and Luffy burst into laughter, him leaning down to press a chase kiss to his lips. "You should hang out at my house tomorrow, get out of the house." Luffy watched as his now-boyfriend sat up, pondering for a moment. "When I finally get the bandages off my face I will, until then you're stuck at my house." Luffy pouted and hooked an arm around Zoro's shoulders. 

"No fairrr..." Luffy whined, pressing his face to the other's neck. "Really? How old are you?" Zoro bubbled, squirming a bit when Luffy's breath ghosts across his neck. "I'm only nineteen, gee." Luffy huffed, pulling away to make a face at him before they dissolved into laughter. "Zoro?" Chopper's voice came from the other side of the closed door, breaking their rather bubbly moment. "I heard a bunch of yelling from the porch, is everything okay?" Chopper pushed open the door and paused when he saw the two tangled up in a pile of limbs. "Uh, I understand if you're sexual act-" "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Zoro interrupted, face going red. Chopper made a noise of confusion and cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?" He asked, looking between the two. 

"Me 'n' Zoro are dating!" Luffy states with a bright smile, Zoro sputtering loudly. "Really? Good for you, but no sex until he's healed!" Chopper states firmly and leaves, Luffy laughing as Zoro mumbled something about wanting to die. "You can't die!" Luffy huffed, detangling himself from Zoro. His phone buzzed and it showed it was a text from Ace saying he needs to get home before Garp does, and that Nami dropped off his clothes earlier. Luffy groaned and put his phone back into his pocket. Luffy pulled the other off the bed and they made their way downstairs. "I should be free tomorrow if you want to hang out again, but that depends if Ji-chan wants to go to work tomorrow," Luffy said as he pulled on his dress shoes. 

Zoro nods and opens the door for him, Luffy grabbing his bags and turning to the taller. "I love you!" Luffy smiles and kissed him before he left, waving goodbye and rushing down the street with the bags in his hands. Zoro closed the door and leaned his forehead against it, that kid's going to be the death of him.

Luffy bursts through the front door with the biggest smile his older brothers have ever seen, and before they could even ask he was up the stairs changing into something more comfortable and coming back down with his phone in texting someone furiously. "Who- nevermind, why are you so happy?" Ace asked, laying across the couch he occupied while Sabo sat in one of the loveseats. Luffy plopped himself into the other one and made himself comfortable."Who are you talking to?" Sabo asked when Luffy didn't answer Ace for he was too focused on the screen of his phone. "My boyfriend," Luffy states, smiling as his phone made a pinging noise. Sabo dropped the book he was holding and Ace sat up so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. "HUH??!" The cried in unison, shooting each other wide-eyed looks. "Yup," Luffy nods, tapping away at the screen. 

Sabo marked his place in the book he was reading and tossed it to the side so he could try to snatch his younger brother's phone. Luffy shoved it down the shirt he wore and stuck his tongue out. "You can't see those!" He gave a devious smile until Ace tackled him, letting out a shriek when the couch tipped back ominously. "Lemme see that phone!" Ace shouts, trying to lift the younger's shirt up to grab the phone. Luffy pushed his face back and slipped from the seat, nearly running smack dab into the wall. "When did you ask him out?!" Sabo cried, getting up to chance his brother, who was being pursued by Ace. "After I came back with Nami, duh." Luffy made a noise and ducked when Sabo threw his book at him.

Luffy jumped onto the table that shook under him, Ace in front of him and Sabo behind him. "If you give us the phone we won't attack you," Sabo goads, trying and failing to hide the smile when Luffy glared at him "Nope!" Luffy shook his head and jumped over Ace, who reacted a moment too late. He was looking over his shoulder when he smacked right into someone, nearly doing a backflip to get away when he looked up to see who it was. It was Garp. Luffy yelped and leaned to the side when a swat was aimed at him, running up the stairs and to his room before his brothers could pursue him further. He pulled his phone out of his shirt and leaned against the door, getting ready to text Zoro back when he went flying to the ground.

"So I heard you got yerself a little boyfriend, hm?" Garp popped his knuckles, Ace and Sabo right behind him. Luffy scrambled to his phone and was half tempted to jump out the window when he was seized by Sabo, him and Ace snatching his phone and going through their texts. Garp hit him on the head and grumbled to him about being stupid while Ace and Sabo made gagging noises as they poured over the texts. "God, you're so sappy, blegh." Sabo laughed at Ace making a gagging noise. Luffy's face flushed bright red and he launched himself at his two brothers to get his phone back. "Shaddap! I'm not like you to Marco!" Luffy snatched his phone and checked to make sure they didn't send any texts.

Ace's face went pink and he tried to grind out a comeback but to no avail. Luffy cackled in his face and headed downstairs to put something in stomach, Dragon just arriving back come when he popped into the kitchen. Luffy was shoving the remaining mochi down his throat as he continued texting Zoro, his father not bothering to ask for the moment he took off his shoes Sabo was by his side telling him everything. Dragon made a noise and watched as his son run up the stairs with Garp yelling at him to stop eating all the mochi. Luffy jumped into his bed, even though it was early in the evening, and texted until he fell asleep with a big smile on his face. 

_He was madly in love with Zoro._


End file.
